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GURDON    W.   WATTLES 


A  brief  history  of  the  Omaha  & 

Council  Bluffs  Street 

Railway  Strike 

1909 


By     GURDON     W.     WATTLES 


Contents. 

Chapter  Page 

Introduction. 

I.  Advent  of  the  Union 5 

II.  Second  Visit  of  the  Agitator 8 

III.  Third  Demand  for  " Recognition"  15 

IV.  The  Final  Conference 19 

V.  Endorsement  of  Company's  Position 51 

VI.  Stampeding  the  Men 57 

VII.  The  Strike  63 

VIII.  Intervention  of  Public  Officials 73 

IX.  Terms  of  Re-employment  Submitted Ill 

X.  Labor  Commissioner's  Investigation 117 

XI.  The  Business  Men's  Association 122 

XII.  Efforts  to  Settle  the  Strike 125 

XIII.  Attempts  to  Punish  by  Legislation 130 

XIV.  The  Strike-maker 134 

XV.  Strike-breakers 141 

XVI.  Loyalty  Rewarded — Views  of  the  Men 153 

XVII.  Lessons  of  the  Strike 162 


Illustrations. 

Opposite 
Page 

Frontispiece — Gurdon  W.  Wattles 

Leaders  of  the  Union 28 

Parade  of  the  Strikers 48 

Rioting  on  Farnam  Street 68 

Ames  Avenue  Car  Barn  80 

The  Outside  Agitators 106 

Strike-Breaking  Contractors 142 

Scene  of  Vinton  Street  Riot 150 


Introductory. 


It  is  the  purpose  of  this  narrative  to  preserve  in  comprehensive 
form  the  history  of  the  industrial  crime  that,  in  September,  1909, 
shook  the  city  of  Omaha  and  adjoining  municipalities  to  their 
outermost  environs;  paralyzed  for  some  days  the  business  and 
social  interests  of  250,000  people;  temporarily  withdrew  from  500 
men  and  their  families  the  means  of  livelihood;  and  ultimately  left 
150  of  them  to  search  elsewhere  for  new  occupation.  It  is  the 
story  of  the  strike  of  the  union  operating  carmen  in  the  employ 
of  the  Omaha  &  Council  Bluffs  Street  Railway  Company,  the  serv- 
ice corporation  operating  the  tract-ion  systems  of  the  cities  of 
Omaha,  South  Omaha,  Council  Bluffs,  and  the  suburbs  of  Benson, 
Florence  and  Dundee. 

The  facts  herein  presented  are  taken  from  authentic  records. 
A  large  portion,  relating  to  conferences  held,  first  with  a  view  of 
preventing  a  strike,  and  later  with  a  view  of  settling  the  strike, 
is  reprinted  from  the  transcript  of  the  court  reporter  who  made  a 
stenographic  report  of  the  proceedings  at  the  time  of  their 
occurrence.  A  portion  is  reproduced  from  the  editorial  and  news 
columns  of  the  daily  newspapers,  while  statements  of  some  of 
the  public  officials  and  most  prominent  business  men  of  the  city, 
as  well  as  of  several  of  the  striking  and  non-union  employes  of  the 
company,  are  presented  in  order  that  the  facts  may  be  truthfully 
set  forth  without  undue  prejudice  or  color. 

It  has  been  the  effort  of  the  historian  to  present  the  case  on 
its  attendant  merits  and  demerits,  chronicling  the  things  that 
actually  occurred  and  arranging  them  in  chronological  order,  that 
the  reader  may  be  informed  as  to  all  the  phases  of  the  situation 
that  dereloped,  and  reach  the  understanding  that  comes  of  accu- 
rate knowledge.  Such  knowledge  is  a  prerequisite,  if  the  blame 
or  responsibility  for  what  occurred  is  to  be  unerringly  fixed. 

That  a  grave  responsibility  rests  somewhere  is  evident,  but 
it  is  for  the  future  to  call  it  to  account,  either  at  the  bar  of  public 
opinion  or  to  those  misguided  men  who  were  most  grievously 
wronged. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


Chapter    I. 


ADVENT  OF  THE  UNION 

In  August,  1902,  an  international  union  officer  by  the  name 
of  Wilson  appeared  in  Omaha,  and  started  the  organization  of  a 
street  railway  union  among  the  employes  of  the  Omaha  Street 
Railway  Company.  About  fifteen  men  joined  the  union.  They 
were  promptly  suspended  by  the  General  Superintendent  of  the 
company,  but  soon  after  they  asked  for  a  hearing  before  the  Board 
of  Directors,  which  was  granted. 

At  this  meeting  they  requested  that  Mr.  Wilson,  the  inter- 
national organizer,  be  allowed  to  explain  to  the  board  the  objects 
and  purposes  of  the  union  they  sought  to  organize.  He  was  ad- 
mitted, and  in  his  statement  said  that  in  many  cities  of  the  country 
unions  existed  among  the  street  railway  employes,  but  that  in  no 
case  did  the  union  attempt  to  enforce  a  closed  shop;  that  union 
men  and  non-union  men  worked  together  on  street  railways  in 
perfect  harmony;  that  the  purpose  of  the  organization  in  Omaha 
was  for  the  mutual  benefit  and  advantage  of  the  men  who  should 
join  the  union;  that  the  company  would  not  be  asked  to  treat  them 
in  any  different  manner  than  it  treated  its  non-union  employes, 
and  that  no  special  contract  with  the  union  men  would  be  asked  or 
required  either  at  this  time  or  in  the  future. 

On  the  strength  of  this  statement,  which  was  taken  down,  the 
officers  of  the  Street  Railway  Company  withdrew  their  objections 
to  the  organization  of  the  union,  and  reinstated  the  men  who  had 
been  suspended  on  account  of  joining  it. 

For  some  time  thereafter  comparatively  few  of  the  employes 
of  the  Street  Railway  Company  joined  the  union.  The  policy  of 
the  company  and  its  officers  had  always  been  to  treat  its  employes 
in  a  hberal  and  fair  manner.  For  many  years  the  Omaha  Street 
Railway  Company  had  paid  a  flat  wage  of  twenty  cents  per  hour. 
All  during  the  panic  and  depression  from  1893  to  1900  the  wages 
of  its  employes  had  never  been  reduced,  although  the  company 
paid  but  one  dividend  to  its  stockholders  during  that  period.    The 

(») 


6  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

story  is  told  that  during  the  darkest  days  of  depression,  when  it 
seemed  hardly  possible  to  keep  the  company  out  of  the  hands  of 
a  receiver,  the  suggestion  was  made  at  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of 
Directors  that  the  wages  of  the  men  be  decreased,  but  that  Mr. 
Frank  Murphy,  then  president  of  the  company,  stated  emphat- 
ically that  even  though  the  company  should  go  into  bankruptcy 
he  would  not  favor  a  decrease  of  wages  to  its  employes.  So  the 
wages  were  not  decreased,  although  the  Kansas  City  street  railway 
company  was  then  paying  its  conductors  and  motormen  fifteen 
cents  per  hour,  and  the  street  railway  company  of  Minneapolis  and 
St.  Paul  was  paying  sixteen  cents  per  hour. 

On  January  1,  1903,  the  wages  of  conductors  and  motormen 
were  increased  as  follows:  First  year  20  cents  per  hour,  second 
year  21  cents,  thereafter  22  cents. 

On  May  1,  1906,  another  increase  was  granted,  and  the  follow- 
ing scale  of  wages  was  put  in  force:  First  year  20  cents  per 
hour,  second  year  21  cents,  third  year  22  cents,  fourth,  fifth  and 
sixth  years  23  cents,  seventh  to  tenth  years  inclusive  24  cents, 
thereafter  25  cents  per  hour. 

On  May  1,  1907,  another  increase  was  made  and  the  following 
scale  of  wages  was  adopted:  First  year  21  cents  per  hour,  second 
year  22  cents,  third  year  23  cents,  fourth  year  24  cents,  fifth  to 
ninth  years  25  cents  per  hour,  thereafter  26  cents  per  hour. 

From  the  date  of  the  organization  of  the  union  until  the  strike 
was  called  on  September  18,  1909,  at  no  time  did  a  majority  of  the 
conductors  and  motormen  of  the  street  railway  system  belong  to 
the  union. 

Soon  after  its  organization,  a  large  delegation  of  the  old  em- 
ployes of  the  company,  some  of  whom  had  been  in  the  service  for 
twenty  years  or  more,  called  on  the  officers  of  the  company  and 
stated  that  members  of  the  union  were  urging  them  to  join,  and  had 
said  that  unless  they  did  so  they  were  liable  to  lose  their  posi- 
tions. These  old  employes  stated  that  they  were  well  satisfied 
with  their  treatment;  that  they  had  no  complaints  against  the 
company  or  its  officers;  and  that  they  did  not  wish  to  belong  to  a 
union,  for  fear  that  at  some  future  time  they  might  be  compelled 
to  lose  their  positions  through  a  strike  or  otherwise,  if  they  became 
members  of  this  organization. 

These  men  were  told,  as  were  many  others  who  later  inquired, 
that  the  company  would  not  at  any  time  jeopardize  their  interests 


ADVENT  OF  THE  UNION  7 

by  entering  into  any  contract  or  agreement  with  the  union,  and 
that  an  agreement  had  been  made  when  the  union  was  organized 
that  no  contract  would  be  required,  and  that  the  company  would 
not  be  asked  to  treat  its  union  employes  in  any  different  or  more 
favorable  manner  than  it  did  its  non-union  men. 

For  some  time  after  the  union  was  formed  but  few  of  the 
employes  joined  it,  but  from  time  to  time  outside  officers  of  the 
national  organization  came  among  the  men.  At  such  times  fre- 
quent meetings  of  the  union  were  held,  and  men  were  urged  and 
solicited  to  join  it.  During  these  periods  there  was  always  more 
or  less  friction  between  the  union  and  non-union  men.  Heated 
arguments  were  frequently  held  where  the  men  congregated  about 
the  barns.  Men  who  would  not  join  were  sometimes  called  "  scabs", 
and  in  some  cases  friendships  and  good  feeling  of  long  standing 
between  the  men  who  had  worked  together  were  broken  up.  In 
one  case  a  conductor  and  motorman  had  been  partners  and  good 
friends  for  years.  When  the  conductor  joined  the  union  he  urged 
his  motorman  to  do  the  same,  and  when  he  decUned,  the  friend- 
ship between  them  became  strained,  until  finally  each  at  different 
times  came  to  his  superior  officer  with  complaints  against  the  other. 

There  was  a  continual  strife  between  the  two  factions.  A 
union  conductor  would  seek  in  every  manner  to  annoy  and  harass 
his  motorman.  On  the  other  hand  the  non-union  men  sought  to 
violate  rules  of  the  company  and  be  excused  because  of  the  fact 
that  they  did  not  belong  to  the  union.  Union  men  were  jealous 
of  their  rights,  and  often  complained  that  they  were  not  as  well 
treated  as  those  who  did  not  belong  to  their  order. 

Meanwhile  the  officers  of  the  company  had  announced  their 
policy  to  treat  all  employes  in  the  same  manner,  and  that  they 
would  not  discriminate  for  or  against  those  who  belonged  to  the 
union. 

When  the  outside  agitators  had  left  the  city,  peace  would  be 
again  restored.  Converts  who  had  j  oined  the  union  would  pay  a 
few  months'  dues  and  then  drop  out.  The  membership  would 
continue  to  decrease,  until  the  next  agitator  came  along  to  revive  it. 


Chapter  II. 


SECOND  VISIT  OF  THE  AGITATOR 

In  February,  1907,  an  international  officer  by  the  name  of 
A.  J.  Behner,  of  the  Amalgamated  Association  of  Street  and  Elec- 
tric Railway  Employes  of  America,  came  to  Omaha  and  commenced 
a  revival  of  the  union.  Frequent  meetings  were  held,  and  finally 
at  a  pubhc  meeting  he  announced  his  plans  to  be  to  force  the  Street 
Railway  Company  to  enter  into  a  signed  contract  with  the  union, 
granting  its  members  certain  privileges  they  did  not  then  enjoy, 
and  stated  that  unless  the  Street  Railway  Company  entered  into 
such  an  agreement,  it  was  his  purpose  to  call  a  strike  and  "stop 
the  wheels  of  progress  in  the  communities  which  the  Street  Rail- 
way Company  served. " 

He  succeeded  in  securing  quite  a  large  addition  to  the  member- 
ship of  the  union,  and  finally  stated  his  plans  pubUcly  in  the  news- 
papers. To  these  statements  the  then  Vice-President  of  the  Street 
Railway  Company  made  answer  in  a  pubhshed  statement,  which 
appeared  in  the  newspapers  of  this  city  on  February  17,  1907, 
as  follows: 

-"  From  what  has  been  said  I  now  take  it  for  granted  that  there 
will  be  a  strike.  The  company's  position  in  the  matter  is 
thoroughly  known  to  the  union  men  as  well  as  to  our  employes  who 
are  not  members  of  the  union.  We  shall  refuse  to  recognize  the 
union  in  any  way,  and  shall  refuse  to  recognize  any  difference  in 
our  employes  because  of  membership  or  non-membership  in  any 
union. 

"  Inasmuch  as  false  and  misleading  statements  have  been  given 
pubUcity  by  an  outside  agitator,  regarding  the  attitude  of  the 
Street  Railway  Company  and  of  its  employes,  and  as  there  seems 
to  be  a  fixed  determination  to  make  trouble  with  a  view  to  bringing 
about  a  strike,  I  would  like  to  have  the  people  of  Omaha  fully 
acquainted  with  all  the  facts  in  the  case. 

W 


SECOND  VISIT  OF  THE  AGITATOR  9 

"  It  should  be  understood  at  the  outset  that  there  is  absolutely 
no  conflict  of  views  between  the  company  and  the  majority  of  the 
men  who  run  its  cars.  This  disturbance  is  not  being  stirred  up 
by  the  men  who  make  their  living  running  cars,  but  by  those  who 
make  a  living  off  the  men  who  do  run  the  cars.  Fully  two-thirds 
of  our  men  do  not  want  to  belong  to  any  union.  They  are  satisfied 
with  their  treatment  by  the  company,  and  they  do  not  want  to  be 
compelled  to  pay  over  a  part  of  their  earnings  as  dues  to  support 
a  pretended  guardian  for  whom  they  have  no  use.  Our  men  have 
been  in  repeatedly  to  see  us,  and  to  ask  if  it  was  necessary  for  them 
to  join  the  union  in  order  to  avoid  any  discrimination  against  them. 
We  have  invariably  told  them  that  it  was  not.  That  has  all  along 
been  our  policy,  and  it  will  continue  to  be.  We  shall  keep  our 
word  to  them  in  letter  and  in  spirit. 

"We  would  prefer  to  see  no  union  organization  among  the 
men,  and  we  have  not  hesitated  to  frankly  say  so  to  them.  It 
causes  factionalism  among  them,  and  brings  about  a  condition 
where  we  sometimes  have  a  motorman  and  conductor  on  the  same 
car  who  will  not  speak  to  each  other,  because  one  belongs  to  the 
union  and  the  other  does  not.  It  requires  no  elaboration  of  argu- 
ment to  make  it  plain  that  such  a  condition  does  not  tend  to  the 
betterment  of  the  service,  or  to  the  safety  or  convenience  of  the 
traveling  public.  With  such  a  feeUng  of  antagonism  there  is  in- 
creased danger  to  the  Uves  of  the  passengers  and  to  the  property  of 
the  company,  as  it  shows  a  desire  to  get  the  other  man  into  trouble 
sufficiently  to  lose  his  job.  We  do  not  want  such  a  feeling  among 
our  men.  We  want  the  utmost  harmony  of  purpose  and  of  interest, 
and  it  is  likewise  to  the  interest  of  every  person  who  rides  upon  the 
street  cars  to  have  it  so. 

"It  has  always  been  and  will  continue  to  be  our  policy  to  pay 
the  best  wages  paid  by  any  street  car  company  in  any  city  of  this 
size  in  the  country.  Twice  within  the  past  five  years  we  have 
voluntarily  increased  our  wage  scale.  We  have  refused  to  turn 
the  conduct  of  our  business  over  to  the  union,  and  we  shall  rigidly 
adhere  to  that  conclusion.  They  have  demanded  that  we  make 
a  flat  scale  of  23^  cents  an  hour  for  all  men,  regardless  of  their 
time  of  service.  We  have  refused  and  shall  continue  to  refuse  it. 
We  have  promised  our  men  a  graded  scale,  based  on  their  length 
of  service,  and  that  promise  will  continue  to  be  made  good.  It 
may  suit  the  union  to  demand  that  a  new  man  shall  be  considered 


10  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

as  efl&cient  and  as  valuable  to  the  company  as  a  thoroughly  expe- 
rienced and  more  carefully  trained  man,  but  we  do  not  so  regard 
it.  We  desire  to  offer  an  inducement  to  the  competent,  capable 
man,  who  attends  conscientiously  to  his  duty  and  remains  faith- 
fully in  the  service,  and  we  are  confident  that  in  this  view  we  will 
have  the  cordial  support  of  every  thoughtful  person  of  sound 
judgment. 

"In  the  public  prints,  this  imported  representative  of  the 
union  is  quoted  as  saying  that  the  company  made  a  pretense  of 
paying  25  cents  per  hour,  but  that  it  was  based  on  ten  years'  serv- 
ice, and  that  under  the  present  system  a  man  is  not  retained  in 
the  service  that  long.  I  have  taken  pains  to  look  up  the  figures, 
and  the  secretary  of  the  company  has  just  handed  me  a  compilation 
showing  that  over  20  per  cent  of  our  men  are  drawing  25  cents  an 
hour.  The  number  is  steadily  increasing,  and  it  will  continue  to 
increase. 

"This  same  imported  authority  is  quoted  as  saying  that  the 
company  has  discharged  men  who  attended  union  meetings.  The 
inference  is  that  men  were  discharged  because  they  attended  union 
meetings.  Such  a  statement  is  wholly  without  foundation,  and 
I  so  stated  to  that  individual  when  he  called  on  me.  I  challenged 
him  to  produce  one  man  who  had  been  discharged  for  such  a  cause, 
and  he  produced  two  discharged  motormen.  Their  cases  were 
investigated,  and  it  developed  that  one  was  discharged  because 
he  ran  his  car  across  the  Belt  line  track  just  ahead  of  a  rapidly 
moving  train  and  narrowly  missed  being  run  down. 

"There  are  enough  accidents  that  are  not  due  to  carelessness 
without  continuing  the  employment  of  a  man  who  will  thus  invite 
the  destruction  of  the  Uves  of  the  passengers  and  the  property  of 
'the  company.  The  investigation  showed  further  that  this  man 
offered  to  withdraw  from  the  union  if  permitted  to  hold  his  job. 
He  was  told  that  union  membership  had  no  bearing  on  the  case 
in  any  way  whatever,  and  would  not  be  considered.  I  am  informed 
that  he  later  claimed  that  he  could  have  held  his  job  if  he  would 
withdraw  from  the  union.  The  other  discharged  man  was  allowed 
to  go  because  he  carelessly  ran  his  car  into  another  on  the  Q  Street 
curve  in  South  Omaha,  where  the  work  of  the  motorman  on  the 
other  car  was  all  that  prevented  a  more  serious  accident. 

"  Another  false  statement  that  has  been  given  publicity  is  that 
I  had  stated  to  Mayor  Dahlman  that  we  wished  to  crush  out  the 


SECOND  VISIT  OF  THE  AGITATOR  11 

union.  The  most  complete  refutation  of  that  is  the  statement  of 
Mayor  Dahlman,  that  I  did  not  make  any  such  statement,  but 
that  I  did  say  that  we  had  made  no  discrimination  whatever 
between  union  and  non-union  men,  and  that  we  do  not  intend  to 
recognize  any  rules  that  would  make  a  discrimination  in  favor  of 
or  against  any  of  our  men. 

"  As  to  the  implied  threat  of  a  strike  that  'would  tie  up  traffic 
and  paralyze  Omaha  industries,'  if  such  a  strike  is  to  be  precipi- 
tated, I  want  the  citizens  of  Omaha  to  understand  the  situation. 
It  is  demanded  that  the  company  'recognize  the  union.*  Before 
I  became  famiUar  with  just  what  that  meant,  I  used  to  think  there 
was  no  excuse  for  refusing  such  an  innocent-sounding  demand.  I 
supposed  that  it  meant  speaking  to  them  and  hearing  whatever 
they  might  have  to  say.  It  really  means  allowing  them  to  run 
our  business  for  us,  and  dictating  to  us  whom  we  shall  employ  or 
not  employ  and  whom  we  shall  discharge  or  not  discharge,  and  be 
continually  embroiled  in  some  kind  of  controversy.  There  has 
never  been  a  time  when  we  have  refused  to  hear  any  complaints 
that  our  men  might  wish  to  make,  and  union  men  have  had  the 
same  courtesy  and  consideration  as  the  non-union  men. 

"  It  is  from  this  source  that  a  demand  is  made  for  vestibules 
for  the  rear  end  of  our  cars.  I  will  venture  the  opinion  that  nine 
out  of  ten  people  who  ride  on  the  cars  do  not  want  anything  of  the 
kind.  The  majority  of  those  who  ride  on  the  platform  do  so  be- 
cause they  want  to  be  out  in  the  open  air,  as  they  are  cooped  up  in 
shops  or  offices  all  day.  Many  of  them  want  to  smoke  and  spit. 
A  closed  vestibule  would  make  an  ill-smelUng  place  for  passengers 
to  pass  through  in  getting  on  or  off  the  cars.  I  do  not  believe  a 
woman  in  the  city  would  want  it  so,  and  hardly  any  of  the  men. 
That  agitation  is  based  wholly  on  fictitious  sentiment  as  a  humane 
move  in  behalf  of  the  conductors.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  con- 
ductors are  inside  the  car  more  or  less,  and  it  is  a  wholly  different 
situation  from  the  motormen  on  the  front  end.  The  conductors 
do  not  have  to  undergo  severe  exposure.  The  public  may  not 
know  it,  but  our  rules  were  modified  some  time  ago  so  as  to  allow 
conductors  to  remain  inside  the  cars  in  severe  weather,  instead 
of  requiring  them  to  stay  on  the  platform  except  when  col- 
lecting fares.  The  union  is  pushing  this  measure  to  make  a 
showing  of  what  it  can  do  with  the  company,  rather  than  to  accom- 
plish some  real  benefit  either  to  the  employes  or  to  the  public. 


12  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

It  is  a  fair  illustration  of  the  moves  that  the  paid  agitators  are 
constantly  making  in  order  to  make  some  kind  of  a  showing,  in 
return  for  the  money  that  they  are  taking  from  the  men  who  really 
do  the  work. 

"We  have  been  ready  and  willing  at  all  times  to  give  full 
hearing  and  impartial  consideration  to  the  just  claims  of  our  men, 
and  we  do  not  intend  to  deviate  from  that  policy  in  any  particular. 
We  insist  that  each  man  shall  stand  on  his  own  merit,  and  treat 
with  him  accordingly.  So  far  as  this  company  is  concerned  there 
is  no  necessity  of  any  organization  to  back  him  up  or  for  him  to 
hide  behind.  If  he  is  derelict,  we  do  not  intend  that  he  shall  be 
bolstered  up  by  any  organization  to  keep  him  in  a  position  where 
he  can  be  a  menace  to  either  life  or  property.  There  is  altogether 
too  much  at  stake,  and  it  is  not  merely  a  matter  of  dollars  and  cents. 

"The  pubUc  is  concerned  in  this  situation  and  will  want  the 
course  pursued  that  will  insure  the  safest  and  most  efficient  service. 
We  have  for  years  been  making  this  business  a  study,  and  have 
become  firmly  convinced  that  the  placing  of  individual  responsi- 
bility, and  with  it  a  proper  recognition  of  long-continued  and  faith- 
ful service,  is  the  surest  guaranty  of  faithful,  careful  attention 
to  duty. 

"This  company  aims  to  treat  the  public  fairly  and  to  deal 
fairly  and  squarely  with  the  men  in  its  employ.  We  want  their 
best  service,  and  we  propose  to  treat  them  in  the  surest  way  to  get 
it  and  to  have  it  continue.  We  believe  that  we  can  keep  closer  to 
the  men,  and  have  more  kindly  feeling  and  results  that  will  be  more 
satisfactory  to  us  mutually,  by  deaUng  directly  with  them  than  by 
handing  the  situation  over  to  a  third  interest  that  has  been  quite 
as  often  disposed  to  promote  trouble  as  it  has  been  to  promote 
peace.  For  these  reasons  the  demand  for  such  'recognition  of  the 
union'  has  been  declined,  and  the  decision  is  final. " 

"(Signed)     G.   W.   Wattles,   Vice-President." 

In  due  time  a  committee  from  the  union  waited  on  the  Board 
of  Directors  of  the  Street  Railway  Company,  and  presented  a 
contract  between  the  union  and  the  company  and  demanded  execu- 
tion thereof.     This  contract  contained  the  following  provisions: 

"Section  3.  All  motormen  or  conductors  who  are  now  or 
may  hereafter  become  members  of  the  association  shall  remain 
in  good  standing  in  the  association  as  long  as  they  remain  in  the 
service  of  the  company,  providing  that  such  continuance  of  mem- 


SECOND  VISIT  OP  THE  AGITATOR  13 

bership  shall  not  conflict  with  the  laws  of  the  association.  All 
new  motormen  and  conductors  hired  in  the  future  shall  receive 
their  necessary  instructions  upon  the  car  at  the  hands  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  association,  and  upon  making  application  for  member- 
ship in  the  association,  and  their  membership  shall  be  governed 
by  the  same  rules  as  that  stated  above  in  regard  to  present  members 
of  the  association.  The  company  further  agrees  that  in  case  the 
association  expels  a  member  for  the  violation  of  its  laws,  that  they 
will  dismiss  such  employe  from  the  service  of  the  company  upon 
receipt  of  the  proof  of  such  violation  from  the  association. 

"Section  5.  All  members  of  the  association  in  the  employ 
of  the  company  shall  be  given  free  transportation  over  all  lines 
owned  or  operated  by  the  company. 

"Section  7.  Any  member  of  the  association  elected  or 
appointed  to  office  in  this  division,  or  in  the  International  Associa- 
tion, shall  be  given  such  leave  of  absence  as  may  be  required  for 
him  to  fulfill  his  duties  in  said  office,  and  upon  his  retirement  from 
said  office  or  appointment,  he  shall  be  placed  in  his  former  position 
in  the  employ  of  the  company. 

"Section  10.  Motormen  and  conductors  shall  be  paid  a  flat 
scale  of  25  cents  per  hour." 

It  contained  other  provisions  for  reinstatement  of  men  who 
had  been  or  might  be  discharged  by  the  company,  and  was  to  be 
in  force  until  June  1,  1907,  at  which  time  either  this  contract  or 
another  was  to  be  entered  into  for  the  ensuing  year. 

The  officers  of  the  Street  Railway  Company  absolutely  refused 
to  enter  into  this  contract,  and  a  meeting  of  the  employes  was  called 
to  vote  on  the  question  of  a  strike.  The  officers  of  the  union  ap- 
pealed to  the  leading  representatives  of  other  labor  unions  in 
the  city  for  sympathy  and  assistance.  Before  taking  decided  action 
on  this  appeal,  it  was  proposed  that  the  then  president  of  the  Cen- 
tral Labor  Union  and  the  last  two  ex-presidents  of  that  body 
should  hear  a  statement  of  the  grievances  from  the  Street  Railway 
Union  representatives,  and  the  vice-president  of  the  Street  Rail- 
way Company  was  asked  to  appear  before  these  labor  representa- 
tives and  state  the  side  of  the  company. 

This  invitation  was  accepted,  and  on  March  7,  1907,  the  hear- 
ing was  held.  At  this  meeting  the  evidence  was  produced  as  to 
the  original  agreement  between  the  Street  Railway  Company  and 
the  officers  of  the  union,  when  it  was  organized,  that  no  contract 


14  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

should  be  asked  or  required  of  the  Street  Railway  Company,  and 
other  evidence  on  the  questions  involved.  After  a  full  investiga- 
tion of  these  matters  this  committee,  composed  of  Mr.  Charles 
McDonald,  Mr.  Louis  V.  Guye  and  Mr.  John  Polian,  made  certain 
findings,  one  of  which  was  as  follows: 

"  Fifth — In  the  matter  of  a  written  contract  demanded  on  the 
part  of  your  organization,  we  find  that  inasmuch  as  an  agreement 
was  entered  into  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of  your  local  union 
to  the  effect  that  the  company  would  not  be  required  to  sign  such 
contract,  we  therefore  recommend  that  said  contract  be  with- 
drawn and  that  grievances  therein  contained  be  presented  as 
such. " 

At  the  end  of  their  report  they  found  that  no  cause  for  a 
strike  existed,  and  recommended  against  it.  Mr.  Behner  left  the 
city,  and  peace  again  reigned. 


Chapter  III. 


THIRD  DEMAND  FOR  "RECOGNITION" 

No  further  conferences  were  asked  or  held  between  the  ofl&cers 
of  the  Street  Railway  Company  and  the  representatives  of  the 
union  for  nearly  two  and  a  half  years.  The  membership  of  the 
union  gradually  decreased  until  in  August,  1909,  there  appeared 
on  the  scene  Mr.  Ben  Commons,  another  officer  of  the  Amalga- 
mated Association  of  Street  and  Electric  Railway  Employes  of 
America.  A  httle  later  Mr.  C.  O.  Pratt,  Chairman  of  the  General 
Executive  Board  of  said  association,  came  to  assist  Mr.  Commons 
in  the  revival  of  the  union  which  he  was  conducting  among  the 
street  railway  men.  Mr.  Pratt  stated  at  a  meeting  before  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Business  Men's  Association,  at  a  later 
date,  that  only  twelve  men  belonged  to  the  union  when  Mr.  Com- 
mons came  to  Omaha;  that  both  he  and  Mr.  Commons  had  come 
at  the  request  of  the  men;  that  they  came  for  peaceful  purposes, 
and  that  they  did  not  seek  nor  desire  a  strike. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  number  that  belonged  to  the  union 
when  Mr.  Commons  came  to  Omaha  in  August,  1909,  was  about 
forty.  Whether  or  not  their  mission  was  one  of  peace  and  good 
will  may  be  better  understood  by  the  reader  after  a  recital  of  events 
which  followed   their  advent. 

During  the  month  of  August,  1909,  frequent  meetings  of  the 
Street  Railway  union  were  held  at  Labor  Temple  and  addressed 
by  Mr.  Commons  and  others.  The  men  were  urged  to  secure 
additional  members  to  the  union,  and  by  their  diUgent  proselyting 
a  large  number  of  the  first-year  men  in  the  service  of  the  company 
joined  the  union.  The  sympathies  of  some  men  older  in  the  service 
were  aroused,  and  some  of  them  were  induced  to  join  for  the  pur- 
pose of  bettering,  if  possible,  the  conditions  of  these  younger  em- 
ployes. Grievances  real  and  imaginary  were  recited  in  detail, 
and  promises  were  freely  made  by  Mr.  Commons  that  the  company 
would  be  forced  to  enter  into  a  contract  with  the  union  whereby 

(15) 


16  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

all  grievances  would  be  adjusted  by  a  board  of  arbitration,  and 
that  the  wages  of  the  men  would  be  immediately  increased. 

The  revival  went  on  and  the  proselyting  continued,  until 
many  non-union  men  made  complaint  to  the  officers  of  the  company 
that  they  were  being  harassed  and  abused,  and  even  called  "scabs" 
because  they  would  not  join  the  union.  These  complaints  became 
80  numerous  that  a  committee  of  non-union  men  asked  for  a  hearing 
before  the  Board  of  Directors. 

At  about  the  same  time  a  committee  from  the  union  asked  for 
a  hearing,  and  the  date  for  both  committees  was  fixed  by  the  Board 
of  Directors  for  the  same  hour, — ten  o'clock  A.  M.,  September  2nd, 
1909.  When  these  two  committees  appeared  before  the  Board, 
there  was  much  hesitation  as  to  whether  or  not  the  union  commit- 
tee would  remain  in  the  same  room  with  the  non-union  employes. 
Their  objection  was  finally  overcome,  and  complaints  from  both 
sides  were  heard  by  the  Board  of  Directors.  The  union  committee 
had,  on  September  8,  presented  to  the  President  of  the  Company 
a  contract  with  the  union,  which  they  desired  to  have  executed. 
This  contract  is  quoted  in  full  as  follows:  | 

"  THIS  AGREEMENT  made  and  entered  into  by  and  between 
THE  OMAHA  &  COUNCIL  BLUFFS  STREET  RAILWAY 
COMPANY,  hereinafter  called  the  'Company',  and  DIVISION  No. 
288,  of  Omaha,  of  THE  AMALGAMATED  ASSOCIATION  OF 
STREET  AND  ELECTRIC  RAILWAY  EMPLOYES  OF  AMER- 
ICA, hereinafter  called  the  'Association,' 

"  WITNESSETH,  That  the  Company  hereby  agrees  to  and 
with  the  Association,  to  treat  with  the  Association  on  all  differ- 
ences arising  between  the  members  of  the  Association  and  the 
Company,  in  the  operation  of  the  street  railway  fines  owned  by 
the  Company. 

"That  all  such  differences  shall  be  reported  directly  to  the 
officers  of  the  Company  and  to  the  properly  accredited  officers  or 
authorized  committees  of  the  Association,  for  adjudication. 

"Whenever  a  member  of  the  Association  is  suspended  or 
discharged  by  the  Company,  such  member  shall  have  the  right  to 
appeal  to  the  Association  from  said  order  of  suspension  or  discharge 
issued  by  the  Company,  and  if  the  decision  of  the  Association  on 
such  suspension  or  discharge  shall  differ  from,  or  be  antagonistic 
to  the  said  order  of  the  Company,  then  both  parties  hereto  shall 
submit  the  question  of  such  suspension  or  discharge  to  a  board  of 


THIRD  DEMAND  FOR  "RECOGNITION"  17 

arbitration  consisting  of  three  disinterested  persons,  one  to  be  chosen 
by  the  Company,  another  to  be  chosen  by  the  Association,  and  the 
two  persons  so  chosen,  to  select  a  third;  and  a  finding  by  a  majority 
of  such  board  shall  be  final  and  binding  on  both  parties  hereto. 

"  A  failure  of  either  party  to  this  agreement  to  name  its  arbi- 
trator within  three  days  after  having  received  written  notice  that 
such  arbitration  is  desired,  shall  be  construed  as  an  admission 
against  such  party  and  shall  be  deemed  equal  to  an  adverse  decision 
by  such  board  of  arbitration  on  the  question  in  dispute. 

"Each  and  every  member  of  the  Association  suspended  or 
discharged  by  the  Company,  shall  be  reinstated  by  the  Company 
to  the  position  theretofore  held  by  him,  in  the  event  the  decision 
of  the  board  of  arbitration  is  in  his  favor,  and  full  wages  shall  be 
paid  such  member  by  the  Company  for  the  time  he  was  so  sus- 
pended or  discharged. 

"  All  motormen  and  conductors  shall  have  the  right  to  select 
their  runs;  such  right  shall  be  based  upon  the  time  of  continued 
service  with  the  Company,  seniority  in  such  service  to  prevail 
in  said  selections. 

"The  wages  and  hours  for  all  motormen,  conductors,  shop 
and  shed  men  shall  be  as  follows: 

"Wages  for  motormen  and  conductors  to  cover  first  year's 
service  twenty-six  (26)  cents  per  hour. 

"  For  second  year's  service  twenty-seven  (27)  cents  per  hour. 

"For  the  third  year's  service  and  thereafter,  twenty-eight 
(28)  cents  per  hour. 

"  Time  and  one-half  shall  be  allowed  to  all  motormen  and  con- 
ductors for  the  actual  time  employed  over  the  regular  runs;  nine 
and  ten  hours  shall  constitute  a  day's  work,  to  be  completed  in 
twelve  consecutive  hours,  as  near  as  practicable. 

"Extra  motormen  and  conductors  when  called  upon  to  per- 
form work,  or  take  out  trippers,  shall  be  paid  from  the  time  they  are 
ordered  to  report  for  duty  by  the  barn  foreman  and  do  report  for 
duty,  up  to  and  until  the  time  that  they  are  relieved;  pay  for  such 
services  shall  be  at  the  rate  hereinbefore  mentioned.  The  same 
proportionate  increase  in  wages  heretofore  mentioned  and  set 
forth  shall  apply  to  all  shop  and  shed  men  who  are  members  of 
the  Association. 

"  Whenever  any  of  the  officers  or  members  of  the  Executive 
Board  of  the  Association  desire  to  be  relieved  of  duty  in  order  to 


18  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

perform  any  service  or  services  for  the  Association,  their  request 
in  that  behalf  shall  have  precedence  over  that  of  all  other  employes. 

"  Any  member  of  the  Association  who  may  be  expelled  by  the 
Association  for  a  violation  of  any  of  the  rules  or  laws  of  the  Associa- 
tion, or  of  the  rules  or  regulations  of  the  Company,  shall  be  dis- 
charged by  the  Company  on  written  request  of  the  Association. 

"  The  Company  shall  provide  each  barn  with  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  extra  men  to  permit  those  having  regular  duties  or  regular 
runs  to  take  a  lay-off  at  least  four  days  in  each  and  every  month. 

"  The  Company  shall  in  no  manner  interfere  with  or  attempt 
to  prevent  any  of  its  old  or  new  employes  from  becoming  members 
of  the  Association. 

:>^  "This  agreement  shall  be  binding  on  the  parties  hereto  and 
shall  remain  in  full  force  and  effect  for  a  period  of  two  years  from 
and  after  the  1st  day  of  September,  1909. 

"IN  WITNESS  WHEREOF  said  parties  have  by  their  re- 
spective officers  hereto  set  their  hands  this day  of 

August,  1909. 

"  In  presence  of 


At  this  meeting  the  union  committee  was  plainly  told  that 
the  company  would  not  enter  into  this  or  any  other  contract,  and 
the  reasons  therefor  were  given.  The  numerous  matters  con- 
tained in  the  contract  were  fully  and  freely  discussed,  however, 
and  assurances  were  given  that  if  any  just  cause  existed  for  com- 
plaint against  the  company,  such  matters  would  be  investigated 
and  immediately  corrected. 

Both  committees  were  assured  that  the  poUcy  of  the  company, 
to  treat  all  of  its  employes  well  and  in  the  same  manner,  would  be 
continued;  that,  notwithstandingthe  fact  that  the  company  was  now 
paying  the  highest  wages  of  any  city  in  the  country  where  similar 
conditions  prevail,  an  increase  of  pay  would  be  made  as  soon  as  the 
financial  condition  of  the  company  would  justify;  that  if  any 
changes  in  the  schedules  of  runs  could  be  made,  which  would  im- 
prove the  hours  or  conditions  of  the  men  without  impairing  the  serv- 
ice to  the  pubUc,  such  changes  would  be  adopted.  Many  other  mat- 
ters were  fully  and  freely  discussed  by  all  of  the  parties  in  conference, 
and  the  meeting  came  to  an  end,  after  a  four  hours'  session,  with 
apparent  good  feeUng  and  satisfaction  on  the  part  of  all  concerned. 


Chapter  IV. 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE 

On  September  14,  1909,  the  following  letter  was  received  by 
the  President  of  the  Street  Railway  Company: 

"DIVISION   288 

OF    THE 

AMALGAMATED  ASSOCIATION  OF  STREET  AND  ELEC- 
TRIC RAILWAY  EMPLOYES  OF  AMERICA. 


Omaha,   South   Omaha,  Council  Bluffs. 

Omaha,  Neb.,  Sept.  14,  1909. 
"Mr.  Gurdon  W.  Wattles,  President, 
O.  &  C.  B.  St.  Ry.  Co., 
Omaha,   Neb. 
Dear  Sir: — 

At  a  special  meeting  of  your  employes  held  yesterday  after- 
noon and  evening  we  were  instructed  by  unanimous  vote  to  seek 
an  immediate  conference  with  you  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a 
definite  understanding  in  regard  to  certain  matters  that  are  of 
mutual  concernment.  In  accordance  therewith  we  ask  that  you 
meet  our  committee  and  representatives  prior  to  Wednesday  even- 
ing. You  can  designate  the  hour  and  place  for  meeting.  Await- 
ing an  early  reply  we  are, 

Respectfully  yours, 

(Signed)  Chas,    H.    Lear,    Pres., 
H.  P.  Nelson, 
W.  H.  Poncelow, 
M.  J.  Kenney, 

W.    GiLLAN, 

Wm.  S.  Boien, 

P.  J.  Lenahan,  Sec, 

4023  N.  25th  TAve." 

(W) 


20  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

The  date  of  the  conference  was  fixed  for  two  o'clock  P.  M., 
Sept.  15,  1909.  Inasmuch  as  this  conference  was  to  be  held 
between  several  members  of  the  Street  Railway  Union  on  the  one 
side  and  one  representative  of  the  Company  on  the  other  side,  it 
was  deemed  proper  by  the  President  of  the  Company  to  secure  the 
services  of  a  court  reporter,  in  order  that  what  was  said  on  both 
sides  might  be  taken  down.  The  services  of  Mr.  Frank  J.  Sutcliffe, 
a  court  reporter,  were  secured  for  this  purpose.  He  was  the  same 
reporter  who  had  been  employed  by  the  union  committee,  two  and 
a  half  years  previous,  to  take  down  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting 
before  the  three  labor  union  leaders. 

Some  objections  to  having  the  proceedings  taken  down  were 
raised  by  members  of  the  committee  when  they  called,  but  these 
were  overruled,  and  what  was  said  at  the  meeting  was  transcribed 
by  the  stenographer  and  at  a  later  date  was  published  in  the  lead- 
ing newspapers  of  Omaha  and  Council  Bluffs,  as  follows: 

Report  of  meeting  between  a  committee  of  seven  of  the 
union  employes  of  the  Omaha  &  Council  Bluffs  Street  Railway 
Company  and  Gurdon  W.  Wattles,  president  of  said  company, 
held  at  the  office  of  Mr.  Wattles  in  the  United  States  National 
Bank  building,  on  Wednesday  afternoon,  September  15,  1909. 

Comjnittee: 

W.    GiLLAN, 
W.  S.  BOIEN. 

P.  J.  Lenahan, 

W.   H.   PONCELOW, 

M.  J.  Kinney, 
H.  P.  Nelson, 
C.  H.  Lear. 

Mr.  Wattles  :  "  You  have  presented  an  agreement  here 
which  you  desire  to  have  signed  by  the  street  railway  company 
with  the  union. 

"It  is  not  the  first  time  that  a  similar  agreement  has  been 
presented  to  the  officers  of  the  company  to  be  signed  by  them  with 
this  union,  so  that  this  is  not  a  new  question.  It  has  been  threshed 
out  several  times  before,  but  it  seems  necessary  to  thresh  it  out 
again  and  to  let  you  know  exactly  what  the  company  proposes 
to  do  in  regard  to  this  or  any  other  agreement  with  the  union  em- 
ployes of  this  company. 

"  When  the  union  was  first  organized  in  this  city,  about  ten 
years  ago,  among  the  street  railroad  men,  I  don't  know  as  any  of 
you  were  present,  but  I  think  some  of  you  were.  The  men  who 
joined  the  union,  about  fifteen  in  number,  were  discharged  or  were 
suspended  by  the  company.     They  asked  for  a  hearing  before  the 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  21 

board  of  directors,  which  was  granted,  and  when  they  came  before 
the  board  of  directors — Mr.  Murphy  was  then  president  of  the 
company — they  asked  that  the  national  organizer,  Mr.  Wilson  I 
believe  his  name  was,  who  was  here  organizing  the  union,  should 
be  admitted  to  the  room  and  should  be  allowed  to  speak  on  the 
subject  of  the  union,  as  the  men  at  that  time  did  not  feel  fully 
competent  to  describe  exactly  what  the  union  was  going  to  do  in 
connection  with  the  street  railroad  employes. 

"  Mr.  Wilson  came  before  the  board  and  what  he  said  was  taken 
down  and  made  a  matter  of  record. 

"  He  said  that  the  purpose  of  organizing  the  union  among  the 
street  railroad  men  in  Omaha  was  not  to  stir  up  any  strife  or  con- 
flict either  among  the  employes  of  the  company  or  with  the  officers 
of  the  company;  that  they  sought  to  organize  a  union  among  the 
employes  of  this  company  for  the  betterment  of  the  conditions  of 
the  employes  and  for  their  mutual  uplifting;  that  all  over  the 
country,  in  many  of  the  principal  cities,  in  nearly  all  of  the  prin- 
cipal cities  where  unions  existed  among  the  street  railway  employes, 
the  non-union  men  and  union  men  worked  side  by  side  in  perfect 
harmony;  that  there  was  no  conflict  between  union  men  and  non- 
union men  in  all  these  cities  where  unions  existed;  that  they  asked 
no  dififerent  treatment  of  the  union  men  who  should  join  the  union 
— it  was  the  Omaha  Street  railway  at  that  time — than  the  other 
employes  received;  that  they  would  ask  no  contract  with  this  com- 
pany that  would  require  the  company  in  any  manner  to  treat  with 
the  union  employes  in  a  different  or  other  manner  than  they  treated 
with  all  of  their  employes. 

"  With  that  understanding  and  agreement  with  the  national 
organizer,  Mr.  Wilson,  the  opposition  of  the  company  to  the 
organization  of  the  union  was  withdrawn,  and  the  men  who  had 
been  discharged  or  suspended  were  reinstated  and  sent  back  to 
work,  and  the  union  went  on  with  its  organization,  securing  quite 
a  number  of  men  to  join  it. 

"  At  that  time,  we  were  waited  on  by  a  large  number  of  our 
old  employes  who  had  been  solicited  to  join  the  union  but  who  did 
not  desire  to  do  so,  and  we  were  asked  the  question,  point  blank, 
as  to  what  the  policy  of  this  company  was  going  to  be  regarding 
its  non-union  employes — whether  or  not  we  were  going  to  sign  a 
contract  with  the  union;  whether  or  not  we  were  going  to  treat 
with  the  union  employes  in  a  different  manner  than  we  did  with 
them;  whether  or  not  they  would  ever  be  placed  in  jeopardy  of 
losing  their  positions  or  losing  any  of  their  rights  as  workmen  for 
this  company  if  they  did  not  join  the  union. 

"  We  said  to  these  men  very  frankly  that  this  company  had 
an  agreement  with  the  organizer,  who  was  a  national  officer  of  the 
sissociation,  that  no  contract  would  be  required  or  asked  of  this 
company. " 


22  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

Mr.  Lenahan  :  "  Mr.  Wattles,  that  is  not  one  of  the  questions 
that  the  committee  have  come  up  here  to  discuss  with  you. " 

Mr.  Wattles:  "  If  you  will  let  me  get  through,  Mr.  Lenahan,. 
we  can  get  this  in  better  form.  I  will  soon  be  through  with  this 
statement. " 

Mr.  Lenahan  :  "  We  have  a  new  contract  and  you  are  going 
to  these  original  questions.  We  have  a  new  contract  that  we  want 
to  discuss." 

Mr.  Wattles  :  "  I  will  get  through  with  this  pretty  soon  and 
we  will  come  right  down  to  the  present  time,  so  that  there  will  not  be 
any  misunderstanding  about  it. 

"  We  can  do  better  if  one  talks  at  a  time,  and  I  will  give  you 
all  ample  time  and  full  opportunity  to  talk  on  any  part  of  this 
subject  you  want  before  we  are  through.  But  as  you  have  raised 
the  question  yourselves  about  whether  this  company  was  going 
to  sign  a  contract  with  the  union,  why,  I  want  to  answer  that 
question,  and  I  am  answering  it." 

Mr.  Lenahan  :  "  That  was  the  instruction  we  had  when  we 
came  here,  not  to  go  into  past  history,  but  to  talk  on  the  present 
troubles.     We  are  not  here  to  discuss  old  agreements. " 

Mr.  Wattles:  "  Yes.  I  am  here  to  tell  you  whether  or  not 
we  are  going  to  sign  a  contract  with  the  union,  and  in  telling  you 
that  I  am  stating  some  of  the  past  history  in  order  that  you  may 
understand  the  position  we  take. 

"  Now,  as  I  was  saying,  our  old  employes  asked  us  what  our 
position  was  going  to  be  and  we  stated  to  them  what  our  agreement 
was  with  the  union,  and  they  were  promised  that  we  would  never 
place  ourselves  in  a  position  where  they  would  not  receive  exactly 
the  same  treatment  as  any  other  employes,  or  where  they  would  be 
put  in  jeopardy  of  losing  their  positions.  Our  promise  was  given 
them  on  the  strength  of  the  agreement  that  we  had. 

"  Now,  this  matter  came  up,  as  you  know,  two  years  ago  last 
spring  and  was  threshed  out.  At  that  time  a  contract,  similar 
to  the  one  that  is  now  presented,  was  presented  to  us — a  little 
different  in  form,  but  similar  in  substance — and  the  company 
refused  to  sign  it  upon  the  same  grounds  that  I  have  stated  here, 
and  the  question  of  whether  or  not  the  union  street  railway  men 
were  justified  in  calling  a  strike  at  that  time  was  raised,  and  we 
were  asked  to  appear  before  a  body  of  union  men  and  state  our 
case,  with  the  understanding  that  these  union  men  were  going  to 
say,  after  they  had  heard  the  evidence,  whether  or  not  the  position 
of  the  men  was  justified,  or  whether  or  not  they  were  justified  in 
striking  at  that  time. 

"  My  answer  to  Mr.  Yeiser,  who  came  to  me  with  this  propo- 
sition, was  this:  That  when  I  knew  I  was  right  I  had  no  fear  of 
appearing  before  any  man  and  stating  what  my  position  was,  and 
that  I  would  appear  before  any  body  of  men  and  would  go  before 
the  union  itself  and  state  what  my  position  was.     And  the  result 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  23 

was  that  these  men  came  here  to  this  very  room,  and  sat  here  and 
heard  the  evidence  that  was  introduced  at  that  time,  and  one  of 
their  findings,  when  they  announced  it  in  writing,  reads  as  follows: 

"  'Five — In  the  matter  of  the  written  contract  demanded 
on  the  part  of  your  organization  we  find  that  inasmuch  as  an  agree- 
ment was  entered  into  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of  your  local 
union  to  the  effect  that  the  company  would  not  be  required  to 
sign  such  contract,  we  therefore  recommend  that  said  contract 
be  withdrawn  and  that  the  grievances  therein  contained  be  pre- 
sented as  such.' 

"Signed  by  McDonald  and  Guye  and  Polian." 

Mr.  Lenahan:     "Can  I  say  a  word  now?" 

Mr.  Wattles:     "  No,  not  yet;  not  just  yet. 

"The  verdict  of  your  own  union  men  is  that  this  company 
has  an  agreement  with  the  national  ofiicers  of  this  association  that 
you  represent  that  they  shall  not  sign  a  contract.  Yet  you  are 
asking  us  and  reasking  us  not  only  to  violate  that  agreement,  but 
to  violate  our  solemn  obligation  and  word  with  our  non-union  men. 
Now,  I  am  here  to  say,  first,  last  and  forever,  and  you  can  take  it 
back  and  say  to  your  men  as  emphatically  as  I  say  it,  that  we  are 
not  going  to  sign  this  or  any  other  contract  with  the  local  union 
existing  among  our  employes." 

Mr.  Lenahan:     "May  I  have  a  word  now?" 

Mr.  Wattles:  "I  am  not  quite  through  yet,  sir.  I  will  be 
through  in  a  moment,  and  then  will  hear  you  one  at  a  time. 

"So  much  for  the  contract  part  of  it." 

Mr.  Gill  an:     "  We  are  glad  you  have  stated  your  position. " 

Mr.  Wattles  :  "  Now,  regarding  the  affairs  of  the  men,  some 
of  which  are  touched  on  in  this  proposed  contract  here:  I  have 
said  to  our  men,  individually  and  collectively,  at  all  times,  and  I 
repeat  it  to  you  here  now:  There  is  no  matter  that  is  so  small 
nor  any  matter  that  is  so  large  that  concerns  the  employes  of  this 
street  railway  company  of  which  I  am  president,  that  I  will  not 
at  any  and  all  times  talk  with  you  about  and  consider  with  you 
and  advise  with  you;  and  not  only  that,  but  I  will  do  as  I  have 
done  in  the  past — I  will  not  only  advise  with  the  men  in  our 
employ,  regardless  of  whether  they  are  union  men  or  not,  but  when 
I  find  that  a  just  and  fair  grievance  exists  of  any  sort  or  kind, 
against  this  company,  if  it  is  within  my  power  I  will  correct  it. 
Now,  that  goes  to  every  man  in  the  employ  of  this  company. 
You  men  are  here  today,  a  committee  of  you.  Some  of  you  have 
been  here  as  individuals.  I  have  not  seen  as  much  of  you  as  I 
would  Uke  to  have  seen,  nor  of  the  other  employes  of  this  company. 
They  have  come  in  here  and  have  said  to  me  this,  or  that,  or  the 
other  thing,  and  they  have  never  gone  out  without  a  courteous 
reply  and  without  fair  treatment,  no  matter  what  their  complaint 
was,  whether  it  was  one  personal  to  themselves  or  whether  it 
was  something  that  pertained  to  the  whole  management  of  this 


24  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

property — it  has  always  had  fair  and  honest  and  open  treatment 
from  me — and  they  will  always  get  it,  and  they  have  always  left 
here  satisfied.  And  the  surprising  thing  to  me,  gentlemen,  about 
this  whole  revival  that  is  going  on  here,  in  which  the  officers  of 
this  company  are  held  up  to  you  as  bad  men,  as  men  who  are  not 
inclined  to  be  fair  and  right,  the  surprising  thing  to  me  is  that  some 
of  you  men  who  sit  and  hear  that  talk  do  not  resent  it  to  tha  limit. 

"I  could  tell  you  men  of  things  that  have  happened  in  this 
very  room,  not  only  with  union  men  but  non-union  men,  and  more 
union  men  than  non-union  men,  that  would  make  you  blush  for 
shame  that  you  had  men  in  your  association  who  would  hear  the 
officers  of  this  company  maligned  in  any  way  and  not  stand  up  and 
defend  them. 

"They  have  come  here  in  their  personal  troubles  and  they 
never  went  away  empty  handed — not  one  of  them.  They  have 
come  to  ask  favors  of  all  and  every  kind.  Every  one  of  them  was 
granted  with  pleasure.  Why?  Because  I  have  been  a  laboring 
man  myself.  I  have  been  a  poor  man  myself.  I  know  every  step 
of  the  ladder  from  absolute  and  abject  poverty  right  all  the  way 
up  along  the  line.  I  have  worked  by  the  day.  I  have  worked 
for  smaller  pay  than  you  men  are  getting  today.  I  have  done 
everything  that  you  have  done.  I  have  saved  and  economized 
and  worked  Sundays  and  nights  and  all  the  time  to  better  my  con- 
dition as  I  have  gone  through  life,  and  so  when  you  come  and  I  hear 
the  stories  of  your  troubles,  they  appeal  to  me;  they  put  me  back 
to  the  time  when  I  used  to  go  out  and  have  to  dig  and  work  along 
as  you  men  are  working,  and  I  sympathize  with  every  one  of  you; 
and  if  you  have  never  tested  it — if  you  have  never  tested  that  sym- 
pathy, come  and  test  it  is  my  invitation.  Instead  of  holding  meet- 
ings down  here  plotting  against  your  employers,  trying  to  see  if  you 
can  disrupt  our  relations,  you  ought  to  be  passing  resolutions 
commending  the  institution  that  you  are  working  for. 

"  Now,  I  have  wandered  from  the  subject  a  little  bit,  but  I 
have  opened  the  gate  here  to  you  men  to  talk.  I  have  said  to  you 
and  I  repeat,  if  there  is  anything  written  down  here  that  you  want 
to  talk  to  me  about  and  want  to  know  what  the  position  of  the 
company  is  going  to  be  regarding  it,  I  am  here  to  tell  you;  I  am  here 
to  meet  you  fairly  and  honestly  and  discuss  with  you  as  men.  I 
want  to  know  if  you  have  any  real  troubles  among  your  men,  and 
if  you  have,  to  help  you  adjust  them.  Now,  if  you  want  to  meet 
me  on  that  basis  the  meeting  is  open  for  you  to  talk  as  long  and 
as  much  as  you  want  to." 

Mr.  Lenahan:  "Mr.  Wattles,  you  have  covered  one  point 
clearly,  and  the  words  that  you  have  used  show  that  you  are  very 
obstinate  in  regard  to  signing  any  contract. 

"The  words  that  you  yourself  have  used  clearly  show  that. 
Now,  inasmuch  as  you  do  not  desire  to  sign  a  contract  such  as  the 
employes  of  this  company  have  asked  of  you,  are  you  willing  to 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  25 

arbitrate  the  whole  of  the  grievances  before  three  disinterested 
persons,  the  company  naming  one,  the  organization  which  we 
represent  naming  the  other,  and  the  two  thus  selected  naming  the 
third.     Are  you  willing  to  do  that?     Is  that  not  fair?" 

Mr.  Wattles:     "Are  you  through?" 

Mr.  Lenahan:     "Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "I  will  answer  that  question.  There  are 
some  things  in  this  world  that  you  cannot  arbitrate.  One  of  them 
is,  you  cannot  arbitrate  whether  you  are  going  to  keep  your  word 
or  not.  You  cannot  arbitrate  whether  you  are  going  to  wipe 
yourselves  out  of  existence  or  not.  That  is  another  thing  that  you 
cannot  arbitrate.  There  are  questions  that  are  involved  in  the 
whole  controversy  as  you  call  it,  that  we  cannot  and  will  not  under 
any  circumstances  arbitrate.  Why?  Because  our  solemn  word 
and  agreement  has  been  given  to  certain  of  our  employes;  for  in- 
stance, regarding  the  signing  of  a  contract,  or  the  execution  of 
a  contract,  or  entering  into  a  contract.  Are  we  going  to  arbitrate 
the  question  of  whether  or  not  we  will  keep  our  word  with  these 
men?  Never.  There  are  other  questions  involved  in  this  con- 
tract that  we  cannot  arbitrate.  The  question  of  the  wages  that 
you  propose  is  raised  here.  Would  it  be  in  your  interest  supposing 
a  board  of  arbitration  should  say  that  we  should  pay  you  men  wages 
that  would  bankrupt  this  company?  Would  it  be  proper  and  right 
for  the  officers  of  this  company  to  permit  that  sort  of  a  condition 
to  come  up  here?  You  would  destroy  the  very  power  to  pay  you 
wages  at  all.  And  that  is  a  question  that  we  cannot  arbitrate. 
There  is  no  question  here  that  any  arbitration  is  required  con- 
cerning. 

"  Let  me  ask  you,  Mr.  Lenahan,  a  question. " 

Mr.  Lenahan:     "Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "Are  you  willing  to  arbitrate  the  question 
of  whether  or  not  the  union  should  exist  in  the  city  of  Omaha 
among  your  men?" 

Mr.  Lenahan:     "Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "You  are?" 

Mr.  Lenahan:     "Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "You  are  willing  to  submit  that  to  arbitra- 
tion?" 

Mr.  Lenahan  :  "  Yes,  sir,  if  you  are  willing  to  submit  the 
other  questions,  we  are  willing  to  submit  that  question  to  the 
arbitration  committee. " 

Mr.  Wattles:     "As  to  whether  the  union  shall  disband?" 

Mr.  Lenahan:  "  That  is  a  question  probably  over  which  we 
would  have  no  control.  This  committee  could  not  determine 
what  these  six  hundred  men  might  desire  in  regard  to  the  union. 
We  have  not  got  the  right  to  say  that  they  would  do  this.  It 
would  be  a  matter  that  we  would  have  to  bring  up  before  the  men. 
But  we  have  got  their  ideas  and  their  vote  in  regard  to  these  griev- 


26  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

ances,  but  we  have  not  the  right  to  say  that  we  will  arbitrate  the 
matter  of  existence  of  the  trade  union;  that  is  too  broad  a  question 
for  this  committee  to  take  up." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "  While  we  are  getting  things  stirred  up  here, 
let  us  have  cigars." 

Mr.  Lear:  "I  would  like  to  ask  a  question.  You  stated 
that  this  agreement  was  signed  by  Mr.  Wilson.  That  ageement 
has  been  violated  time  and  time  again  in  this  city.  Not  by  you, 
I  don't  say,  but  by  your  other  officers.  It  has  been  violated  right 
today.  You  agreed  that  you  would  not  interfere  with  this  union 
in  any  way;  that  you  would  not  put  anything  in  the  way  of  your 
men  organizing.  Right  the  other  night  you  had  men  down  there 
standing  and  watching  the  men  and  intimidating  the  men  from 
going  up  to  that  meeting;  standing  there  for  the  purpose  of  intimi- 
dation and  nothing  else;  just  to  intimidate  the  men  and  keep  them 
from  attending  that  meeting  of  the  organization.  Now  another 
case:  Is  there  a  man  that  goes  down  to  your  oflSce  and  inquires 
for  a  job  that  is  not  told  that  he  should  not  join  the  union?  Is 
there  a  man  that  goes  down  there  to  apply  for  a  job  that  is  not 
told  that?  Is  he  not  told  that?  Doesn't  he  say,  'Well,  remember, 
we  have  no  use  for  you  if  you  join  the  union,'  or  words  to  that  effect? 
Your  job  is  no  good  to  you  if  you  join  the  union.  He  intimidates 
every  man  that  goes  to  that  place  every  time.  And  the  man  that 
does  that  is  an  understudy  of  yours." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "Now,  let  me  answer  that  before  we  go 
further.  That  brings  up  a  real  question  here.  I  have  said,  and 
repeated  time  and  again,  that  there  should  not  be  any  intimidation 
on  the  part  of  the  officers  of  this  company  toward  any  of  its  em- 
ployes, regarding  whether  they  belonged  to  the  union  or  not,  or 
whether  they  were  going  to  join.  I  have  said,  however,  that  you 
must  not  deny  to  the  ofiicers  of  the  company  the  same  privileges 
that  you  claim  for  yourselves;  that  is,  an  officer  of  this  company 
has  a  perfect  right  to  say  to  an  employe  of  the  company,  'I  would 
prefer  that  you  do  not  join  the  union,'  but  at  the  same  time  he 
should  say,  'If  you  do  join  the  union  there  will  be  no  discrimina^ 
tion  against  you.'  Now,  Mr.  Lear,  you  say  that  officers  of  our 
company — " 

Mr.  Lear:     "Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "Have  intimidated  the  men?" 

Mr.  Lear:     "Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "  I  call  for  the  names  of  the  men. " 

Mr.  Lear:     "Right  there  is  a  communication." 

Mr.  Lenahan  :  "  Here  is  a  statement  from  a  young  man  that 
was  called  down  to  the  office  yesterday  or  the  day  before  and  mat- 
ters of  this  kind  only  help  to  make  things  still  worse.  Here  is 
what  they  said  to  him  at  the  oflfice, — that  they  would  not  recognize 
the  union  and  that  every  man  in  case  of  a  strike  would  be  out  of  a 
job, — that  I  was  an  agitator  and  that  the  next  time  I  was  called 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  27 

down  to  the  oflBce  I  would  get  my  time;  that  I  was  agitating  around 
the  barns." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "Agitating  around  the  barns?" 

Mr.  Lenahan:     "Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "What  is  that  man's  name?" 

Mr.  Lenahan:     "His  name  is  Sheean. " 

Mr.  Wattles:     "What  is  his  first  name?" 

Mr.  Lenahan:     "M.  J.  Sheean." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "Who  said  this  to  him?" 

Mr.  Lenahan  :  "  It  was  said  to  him  down  in  the  office  of  the^ 
superintendent  of  transportation." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "  Was  it  the  superintendent  of  transportation 
who  was  talking  with  him?" 

Mr.  Lenahan:  "To  the  best  of  my  knowledge  I  presume  it 
was  either  one  of  the  superintendents.  I  am  not  in  a  position  to 
know.     I  just  got  this  statement  that  he  was  called  in  there." 

A  Member  of  the  Committee:     "Mr.  Nash." 

Mr.  Lenahan:     "And  I  believe  he  was  sworn  at,  too." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "Did  he  say  he  was  sworn  at?" 

Mr.  Lenahan:     "He  didn't  say." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "I  will  call  in  Mr.  Sheean  tomorrow.  I  will 
go  to  the  bottom  of  this  matter.  There  is  no  excuse  for  any  such 
thing.  And  if  you  find,  Mr.  Lenahan,  that  this  man  was  mistaken, 
and  that  he  has  told  an  untruth  in  some  way  about  this  matter, 
you  would  say  there  was  no  ground  for  the  complaint,  wouldn't 
you?" 

Mr.  Lenahan  :  "  I  want  the  man  to  tell  the  truth.  I  don't 
care  who  it  hurts." 

Mr.  Wattles  :  "  That  is  right.  That  is  what  I  want  to  get 
at.  The  instructions  of  this  company  to  all  of  the  superintendents 
and  to  all  of  its  officers  are  that  no  discrimination  must  be  made 
or  shall  be  made  between  men  in  our  employ  as  to  whether  they 
are  union  or  not,  and  if  any  discrimination  is  made  we  will  investi- 
gate it  and  stop  it. 

"  Now,  regarding  the  statement  that  men  have  been  stationed 
down  here  in  front  of  the  Labor  Temple  of  the  union  to  intimidate 
the  men.     What  are  the  names  of  the  men  who  stood  down  there?  " 

Mr.  Lear:  "  It  was  your  road  officers.  There  was  a  meeting 
last  Monday  afternoon,  and  there  was  a  man  named  Kelly  stood 
on  one  comer  and  Mr.  Sheetz  stood  on  the  other  corner. " 

Mr.  Lenahan:  "There  was  one  man  stood  on  Fourteenth 
street  corner  and  another  on  Thirteenth  street." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "What  were  they  saying  to  the  men?" 

Mr.  Lear:     "Nothing." 

Mr.  Wattles  :  "  Then  they  were  not  intimidating  them,  were 
they?" 

Mr.  Lear:  "I  suppose  not.  But  they  were  there.  The 
men  would  come  along  on  their  way  to  the  meeting  and  see  these 


28  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

two  men  there  and  they  didn't  know  whether  they  would  go  up 
to  the  meeting  or  not,  because  they  were  afraid  that  it  would  be 
reported  that  they  had  been  to  the  union  meeting, " 

Mr.  Wattles:     "Did  they  say  anything  to  these  men?" 

Mr.  Lear:  "  Not  that  I  know  of.  I  spoke  to  Mr.  Sheetz,  and 
said  'How  are  you,  Mr.  Sheetz,  are  you  going  to  come  up?'  " 

Mr.  Wattles  :  "  Do  you  object  to  the  officers  of  the  company 
seeing  the  men  that  go  to  the  union  meetings?" 

Mr.  Lear:  "No,  but  we  would  rather  that  they  came  up 
there. " 

Mr.  Wattles:  "Would  you  object  if  I  would  come  down 
there  and  attend  your  meetings  at  the  Labor  Temple?" 

Mr.  Lear:     "We  would  be  glad  to  have  you  come." 

Mr.  Boien  :  "  But  this  idea  of  your  men  being  placed  there 
was  with  the  idea  that  the  men  would  be  afraid  to  go  up  there. 
That  is  the  way  I  look  at  it.  And  I  know  lots  of  the  men  were 
afraid  to  come  up  there  because  they  were  afraid  somebody  was 
watching  them." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "There  is  no  purpose  or  intention  on  the 
part  of  any  of  the  officers  of  the  company  to  keep  these  men  from 
going  there,  or  to  intimidate  or  prevent  any  man  from  going  up 
there.     No  such  purpose  at  all." 

Mr.  Poncelow:     "How  is  that,  Mr.  Wattles?" 

Mr.  Wattles  :  "  I  say  there  is  no  intention  on  the  part  of 
the  officers  of  this  company  to  intimidate  the  men  in  any  way  from 
joining  the  Methodist  church,  or  the  union,  or  the  Baptist  church. " 

Mr.  Poncelow:  "You  mean  there  was  no  intention  on  the 
part  of  the  men  down  on  the  corners  there  to  intimidate  the  men 
from  coming  up  to  the  meeting?" 

Mr.  Wattles:     "Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Gillan  :  "  I  had  quite  an  experience  myself  a  year  ago 
last  August.  I  had  a  little  accident  at  Sixteenth  and  Harney. 
I  was  going  east.  I  had  one  of  the  little  open  cars.  I  was  going 
east  and  a  Park  car  was  going  north,  and  there  was  a  construction 
car — a  work  train — ahead  of  the  Park  passenger  car,  and  the  work 
train  was  pretty  close  to  it;  and  the  work  train  stopped  to  back  in 
around  the  curb  at  Sixteenth  and  Harney,  and  the  Park  car  came 
right  upon  the  crossing,  you  know." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Gillan:  "And  they  had  on  it  a  couple  of  loads  of  this 
base  that  they  put  in  asphalt — put  in  under  the  asphalt — tar  and 
cement  and  broken  stone — and  it  was  right  there,  and  they  had 
dropped  some  of  it  on  the  rail,  and  it  was  just  like  grease  on  the 
broken  rail,  and  they  come  right  up  the  track  with  the  two  loads,  - 
and  I  could  not  stop  my  car  because  I  had  no  sand  or  anything,  and 
I  just  barely  slid,  and  I  put  on  the  reverse  and  my  fender  struck 
the  other  trucks.  He  stopped  kind  of  short  right  on  the  crossing, 
on  account  of  the  other  train.     Well,  my  car  backed  right  away 


o  o 


2:   «  =  a 


i.  -^  S  — 

'-sis 
^  P«| 

u 
2:  *     c 


-J  S  a  £ 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  20 

from  it,  but  it  bent  the  fender  up  and  I  was  suspended  that  next 
day  and  the  next  day  and  I  lost  two  days,  and  the  other  man  was 
suspended  and  lost  one  day,  and  I  was  absolutely  not  to  blame; 
couldn't  be  possibly  to  blame,  no  way." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "When  did  this  happen?" 

Mr.  Gillan:     "It  happened  in  August." 

Mr.  Wattles:    "Last  August?" 

Mr.  Gillan:     "Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "A  year  ago?" 

Mr.  Gillan:     "I  think  it  was  a  year  ago  this  August." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "Did  you  bring  your  matter  up  to  me?" 

Mr.  Gillan:     "No,  I  did  not." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "Did  you  take  it  up  with  Mr.  Smith,  the 
general  manager?" 

Mr.  Gillan:     "No,  I  did  not  take  it  up  with  anybody." 

Mr.  Wattles  :  "  You  cannot  expect  to  have  your  grievances 
corrected  if  you  do  not  state  them. " 

Mr.  Gillan  :  "  And  furthermore,  when  I  went  up  there  before 
this  superintendent  of  transportation,  he  says,  'I  know  you  and  I 
have  heard  the  talk  that  you  have  been  putting  up  to  these  men 
to  join  the  union.'  That  is  the  remark  that  he  made.  Well,  I 
told  him  that  I  always  had  been  a  union  man  and  I  was  not  ashamed 
of  it.  And  so  that  is  all  there  was  to  it.  The  first  day  after  the 
accident  he  had  me  down  there  and  the  other  man  wasn't  there, 
and  the  next  day  he  had  him  down  there.  He  talked  it  over  and 
that  is  all  there  was  to  it,  and  he  let  me  go  back  to  work,  but  I 
lost  two  days  and  the  other  man  lost  one,  and  it  was  an  accident 
that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  avoid.  There  was  no  possible 
way  for  me  to  have  saved  that  car  from  that  accident.  I  had  no 
sand,  you  know.  It  was  one  of  those  little  light  open  cars  and  it 
was  a  sudden  accident  and  it  could  not  possibly  be  avoided  and 
there  was  no  way  to  stop  it. " 

Mr.  Wattles:  "Now,  taking  your  statement  of  the  facts 
to  be  true,  just  as  you  have  related  them;  taking  that  for  granted, 
let  me  ask  you  a  question :  Do  you  think  that  if  you  had  come  up 
to  me  and  made  that  statement,  that  you  would  have  lost  any 
time  or  that  you  would  have  been  inconvenienced  in  any  way?" 

A:  "Why,  I  would  not  suppose  so.  I  would  not  suppose 
that  I  ought  to  have  done  that.  They  are  the  men  we  are  sup- 
posed to  go  before. " 

Mr.  Wattles:  "If  any  injustice  is  done  to  you,  you  have 
always  the  privilege  of  going  to  any  officer  of  the  company,  all 
the  way  up  the  Une,  to  have  it  corrected." 

Mr.  Gillan:     "I  will  remember  that." 

Mr.  Lear  :  "  That  is  very  clear  what  you  say,  but  you  must 
remember  it  is  not  very  easy  to  catch  you  at  all  times,  and  we  would 
have  to  lose  our  time  to  do  it;  we  would  have  to  lay  off;  we  would 


30  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

lose  at  least  a  day.  If  we  came  up  here  to  see  you  we  would  have 
to  lose  our  time." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "You  are  not  working  all  the  time?" 

Mr.  Lear:  "There  is  mighty  little  time  that  we  are  not 
working.  There  was  two  months  this  summer  when  I  could  not 
possibly  have  gotten  off  to  see  anybody." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "There  must  be  quite  a  good  deal  of  time 
when  you  are  not  at  work?" 

Mr.  Lear:  "  I  work  from  a  quarter  past  eleven  to  a  quarter 
past  one  and  then  I  lay  off  for  dinner  and  then  I  go  on  again  a 
little  after  five  at  night. " 

Mr.  Wattles:  "You  can  always  get  me  between  those 
hours. " 

Mr.  Lear:  "  Well,  now,  you  have  to  consider  another  thing: 
If  I  came  up  here  there  would  be  at  least  two  hours  gone. " 

Mr.  Wattles:     "Let  me  tell  you  a  better  way." 

Mr.  Lear:     "Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "You  can  write,  can't  you?  Why  can't 
you   write  me   a  letter?" 

Mr.  Lear:     "Well,  I  might  do  that." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "If  you  come  to  me  and  state  a  case  that 
shows  the  company  is  in  the  wrong  and  that  you  are  in  the  right 
you  will  get  just  treatment;  there  would  not  be  any  question  about 
that. " 

Mr.  Lear  :  "  And  if  you  did  not  think  the  company  was  in 
the  wrong?" 

Mr.  Wattles:  "As  long  as  you  did  not  state  a  just  cause 
of  complaint  then  you  would  have  no  cause  of  complaint. " 

Mr.  Lear  :  "  Well,  sir,  don't  you  know  we  never  understood 
it  that  way.  I  never  understood  that  until  we  came  up  here  a 
few  days  ago.  When  we  had  any  grievance  I  always  supposed  we 
had  to  go  to  the  superintendent,  and  that  was  as  far  as  we  were 
able  to  go  to  have  it  corrected.  My  understanding  has  always 
been  that  way;  that  what  we  got  from  the  superintendent  we  had 
to  take  whether  it  was  right  or  wrong.  We  always  have  under- 
stood that  there  was  no  use  in  carrying  it  up  further. " 

Mr.  Wattles:     "That  is  not  the  case." 

Mr.  Lear:  "It  may  not  be  the  case,  but  that  has  always 
been  the  understanding  of  the  men. " 

Mr.  Wattles:     "It  is  a  misunderstanding." 

Mr.  Lear:  "I  don't  know  whether  it  is  a  misunderstanding 
or  not.  The  other  day  a  man  was  sent  for  from  over  in  Iowa.  I 
don't  know  what  his  name  is,  I  think  his  name  is  Albertson.  This 
friend  of  his  went  to  the  foreman;  he  knew  they  were  short  of  men, 
and  he  said  he  knew  of  a  good,  honest,  sober  young  fellow  living  in 
some  httle  town  here  over  in  Iowa  that  he  would  Hke  to  get  a 
position  for  him,  and  Mr.  Knapp  says,  'Why  send  for  him  by  all 
means;'  he  says,  'We  are  short;'  and  he  came  here  and  went  down  to 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  31 

Mr.  Nash,  I  think  it  was,  if  I  am  not  mistaken;  and  Mr.  Knapp 
telephoned  the  foreman  that  he  was  to  put  this  man  on  and  the 
foreman  went  down  with  him  and  Mr.  Nash  says,  'No;'  he  says,  'I 
don't  want  him  at  all;  I  don't  want  any  of  your  kind;  you  are 
nothing  but  a  labor  agitator.'  I  don't  know  as  the  man  belonged 
to  a  union  at  the  time,  and  I  don't  know  whether  he  was  an  agitator 
or  not." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "  What  is  his  name?" 
Mr.  Lear:     "Albertson. " 

Mr.  Wattles:     "You  don't  know  his  first  name?" 
Mr.  Lear:    "No,  sir;  he  works  at  Twenty-fourth  and  Vinton. " 
Mr.  Wattles  :     "  Now,  let  me  get  these  names  down  before 
we  go  any  further.     Mr.  Lenahan,  you  gave  me  the  name  of  Mr. 
Sheean?" 

Mr.   Lenahan:     "Yes,  sir." 
Mr.  Wattles:     "What  are  his  initials?" 
Mr.  Lenahan:     "M.  J." 
Mr.  Wattles:     "  And  at  what  barn  is  he?" 
Mr.  Lenahan:     "Twenty-fourth  and  Vinton." 
Mr.  Wattles:     "And  this  other  man  is  Mr.  Albertson, " 
Mr.  Lear:     "Albertson." 
Mr.  Wattles:     "Twenty-fourth  and  Vinton?" 
Mr.  Lear:     "Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Boien  :  "  There  is  another  case  I  want  to  bring  up  about 
this  Mr.  Sisnick,  who  used  to  work  for  this  company,  and  wants 
to  work  for  them  again.  He  went  down  there  and  had  been  a  few 
years  at  work  for  the  company.  He  belonged  to  the  union  before, 
and  was  no  agitator  nor  anything  else.  He  is  a  man  that  attends 
to  his  own  business,  and  he  wanted  to  get  back  and  get  a  job. 
Mr.  Nash  looked  him  up  one  side  and  down  the  other,  and  he  says, 
'Mr.  Johnson  will  fix  you  out.'  Mr.  Johnson  fixed  him  up,  and  when 
he  was  walking  put  of  there — out  of  the  room — Mr.  Nash  patted 
him  on  the  back  and  said  'No  more  union  for  you.'" 
Mr.  Wattles:  "Where  is  that?" 
Mr.  Boien:  "Twenty-fourth  and  Vinton." 
Mr.  Lenahan:  "Mr.  Wattles,  we  could  recite  so  many  of 
these  cases  it  would  be  surprising — many  other  cases.  But,  really, 
we  are  not  here  today  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  those  matters. 
Our  instructions  were  to  come  up  here  and  try  and  discuss  the 
grievances  as  we  have  presented  them  to  you  in  writing,  and  as  I 
see  that  you  have  declined  to  arbitrate  any  of  the  grievances  or  to 
concede  any  of  the  grievances  as  written — to  practically  ignore 
them  all — if  we  cannot  change  your  mind,  I  presume  that  this 
committee,  according  to  their  instructions,  have  pretty  near  ful- 
filled the  instructions  from  your  employes;  and  we  regret  very 
much  that  you  cannot  see  the  wisdom  of  taking  hold  of  this  thing 
in  what  we  conceive  to  be  the  proper  light,  and  coming  to  a  better 
understanding  with  your  employes,  getting  closer  to  them;  and,  as 


32  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

individuals,  you  can  never  get  close  to  them,  because,  regardless 
of  what  you  may  think  in  your  own  heart,  and,  really,  I  think  that 
you  are  a  good,  kind-hearted  gentleman — " 

Mr.   Wattles:     "Thank  you," 

Mr.  Lenahan:  "But  the  subordinate  official — regardless 
of  what  you  think  or  what  you  may  do — has  got  the  inspiration 
in  his  heart  to  knock  and  tear  and  undermine  to  the  very  founda- 
tion the  man  who  is  in  any  way  connected  with  an  organization 
which  is  trying  to  help  his  fellow  man.  That  has  been  the  dispo- 
sition, and  we  regret  it  very  much;  we  regret  to  have  to  say  to  you 
here  this  afternoon  that  we  have  proofs,  and  plenty  of  them,  that 
discriminations  without  number  are  being  carried  on  against  the 
members  of  Division  288  of  this  city.  Now,  we  regret  that  very 
much.  And  if  there  was  any  way  of  bringing  about  a  good  under- 
standing, I  want  to  say  this,  that  there  is  nobody  would  be  more 
desirous  of  doing  so  than  this  committee.  But  taking  the  position 
that  you  have  taken,  and  ignoring  all  the  demands  your  men  have 
made — that  you  cannot  see  your  way  clear  to  signing  any  state- 
ment to  them,  and  that  you  cannot  grant  an  arbitration  of  any  of 
their  demands,  really  this  committee  would  be  in  no  position  to  do 
anything  but  go  back  and  tell  the  true  facts. 

"  And  if  there  was  any  way  that  you  could  see  your  way  clear 
to  arbitrate  this  matter,  it  would  be  to  the  benefit  of  the  employes, 
it  would  be  to  the  benefit  of  the  company,  and  it  would  be  to  the 
benefit  of  the  public  at  large.  For  I  want  to  say  to  you,  sir,  that 
this  matter  has  got  to  a  serious  stage,  and  if  diplomacy  and  good 
judgment  is  not  used,  that  it  will  throw  us  into  a  place  where 
probably  we  can  never  get  to  the  same  relations  that  we  had. 
Now,  I  regret  that  very  much;  but  I  see  that  it  is  the  disposition, 
'taking  it  from  the  superintendent  of  transportation  to  the  president 
of  the  road,  that  it  is  the  desire  to  ignore  the  organization  com- 
pletely. Well,  it  is  the  position  of  the  men  at  this  time  that  they 
are  going  to  insist  upon  recognition,  and  that  they  are  not  going  to 
be  ignored.  That  is  the  position  they  take  at  this  time,  and  I  am 
stating  the  true  feelings  of  the  men. 

"  In  the  vote  taken  on  Friday  or  Monday  evening  it  was  the 
unanimous  consent  that  this  committee  must  bring  back  something 
substantial,  and  what  results  may  follow  our  failure  to  do  so  God 
only  knows." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "Now,  Mr.  Lenahan,  you  assume  a  lot  of 
things  in  your  statement  that  are  not  true.     Let  me  correct  you. " 

Mr.  Lenahan:       "  Well,  I  would  Uke  to  have  you  show  me. " 

Mr.  Wattles  :  "  You  say  that  you  came  up  here  and  I 
refused  to  hear  any  of  the  grievances  that  you  have  to  submit,  and 
that  I  refuse  to  say  what  the  company  will  do  in  regard  to  any  of 
them.     Now,  that  is  not  so." 

"The  matter,  pertaining  to  the  operation  of  this  company„aa 
outlined  in  this  contract  are,  first: 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  H 

"  All  motormen  and  conductors  shall  have  the  right  to  select 
their  runs;  such  right  shall  be  based  upon  the  time  of  continuous 
service  with  the  company,  seniority  in  such  service  to  prevail 
in  such  selections.  That  is  one  of  the  things  you  want,  is  it?" 
Mr.  Gillan:  "We  have  that  now," 
Mr.  Wattles  :  "  That  is  as  I  understand  it.  Now,  the  next 
question  in  your  contract: 

"  The  wages  and  hours  for  all  motormen  and  conductors  and 
shopmen  shall  be  as  follows:  Wages  for  motormen  and  conduc- 
tors for  the  first  year's  service,  26  cents  an  hour;  for  the  second 
year's  service,  27  cents  an  hour;  and  for  the  third  year's  service 
and  thereafter,  28  cents  per  houx. " 

"That  is  one  of  the  things  you  want,  is  it?" 
Mr.  Lenahan :     "  Yes,  sir;  that  is  one  of  the  things  we  want. " 
Mr.  Wattles:     "  Do  you  think  that  is  a  just  demand?" 
Mr.  Lenahan:     "Well,  if  you  can,  show  us  it  is  not  a  just 
demand." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "You  show  me  that  it  is,  will  you?  Let 
us  hear  your  side  of  it.  Now,  let  us  hear  what  the  men  have  to 
say  on  the  subject. " 

Mr.  Lenahan:  "Well,  in  the  first  place,  the  newer  men  in 
the  service — which  is  a  great  many — only  receive  21  cents  an  hour 
for  the  first  year,  and  the  hours  of  time  are  limited  for  them  so 
that  they  cannot  make  any  amount  of  money — any  reasonable 
amount  of  money  to  support  themselves  and  their  families." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "Do  you  know  how  much  they  do  make?" 
Mr.  Lenahan:     "Well,  I  have  got  an  idea." 
Mr.  Wattles:     "Well,  how  much  do  they  make?" 
Mr.  Lenahan  :     "  Well,  I  presume  they  will  average  from  $45 
to  $50,  running  up  to  $55  a  month.     I  think  they  will. " 

Mr.  Wattles:  "Fifty-four  to  $55  is  what  they  average." 
Mr.  Lenahan  :  "  Of  course,  I  do  not  say  that  they  will  all 
average  that.  That  is  a  question  upon  which  I  have  no  certain 
knowledge.  I  do  not  know  just  what  the  average  would  be  the 
year  around;  but  I  know  that  they  will  average  that  during  the 
summer  months,  but  in  the  winter  time,  when  the  traffic  is  less,  they 
will  not  do  so  well." 

Mr.  Wattles  :     "  Let  me  refresh  your  memory  on  what  was 
presented  here  the  other  day.     We  got  the  figures  from  the  general 
manager.     He  had  the  books.     Do  you  remember  what  it  was?" 
Mr.  Lear:     "We  did  not  get  them." 

Mr.  Gillan:     "I  believe  the  conductors  made  $48  to  $49 
and  the  motormen,  $50;  a  little  over  $50. 
Mr.  Wattles:     "About  $54." 
Mr.  Gillan:     "Fifty-one  dollars,  I  believe." 
Mr.  Lenahan:     "Now,  Mr.  Wattles,  you  understand  that 
the  cost  of  living  is  very  high.     The  cost  of  hving  in  Omaha  now 
is  considerably  higher  than  it  has  been.     Everything  is  higher. 


34  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

House  rents  are  higher,  and  you  can  easily  understand  yourself 
from  the  way  the  men  are  quitting  every  day  that  they  cannot 
make  a  decent  living  any  more  under  the  present  conditions  in  the 
street  railway  service.  They  are  quitting,  as  the  records  will 
show,  at  the  rate  of  25  to  30  every  month,  and,  of  course,  that  puts 
the  older  men  in  a  bad  place;  for  the  simple  reason  that  there  is  a 
shortage  of  helj)  most  of  the  time  and  as  a  result  he  is  overworked, 
and  those  are  the  conditions  that  we  are  trying  to  ehminate.  We 
are  trying  to  get  a  class  of  men  that  will  appreciate  their  job  and 
stay  with  it  and  be  good  employes,  and  if  they  had  better  remuner- 
ation from  the  company,  the  company  would  have  better  men  and 
they  would  stay  with  their  positions  and  everything  would  go  more 
satisfactorily  for  the  company  and  for  the  men." 

"  Now,  I  do  not  think  that  is  an  unfair  position  to  assume, 
and  if  these  men's  wages  could  be  raised  up  to  a  fair  standard,  why, 
I  think  that  the  feeling  would  be  better. 

"  The  discrimination  between  the  old  and  the  new  men  at  the 
present  time  is  too  great.  Where  the  old  man  is  getting  ten  to  ten 
and  a  half  hours  at  26  cents  an  hour,  he  makes  a  pretty  fair  living, 
but  there  is  no  protection  for  the  newer  men.  Another  thing  that 
takes  place  to  a  certain  extent  is  the  fact  that  for  very  trivial 
causes  sometimes  the  higher  priced  men  are  discharged." 

Mr.    Wattles:     "Who   has  been?" 

Mr.  Lenah an  :  "  Well,  I  have  not  got  a  record  of  the  men 
that  have  been  discharged,  but  some  of  the  boys  will  call  your 
attention  to  that,  and  they  have  been  reinstated  at  the  lower  wage 
scale.  Now  there  was  one  man  (I  cannot  recall  his  name)  who 
happened  to  back  over  the  end  of  the  car  track  on  one  of  the  lines, 
and  he  was  discharged  and  sent  for  in  two  or  three  weeks  again  and 
put  back  at  the  lower  wage  scale.  And  the  objections  we  have  to 
the  present  wage  scale  is  this,  that  there  is  a  disposition  on  the 
part  of  the  company  to  completely  let  out  the  old  employes  and 
supplant  them  with  the  newer,  inexperienced  men.  That  is 
another  of  the  objections  we  have  to  it.  Those  are  some  of  the 
reasons  that  we  have  for  thinking  that  the  wage  scale  ought  to  be 
brought  more  closely  together,  and  also  for  the  reason  that  it  will 
make  men  better  men  and  they  will  give  better  service  to  the  com- 
pany. That  is  the  reason  that  we  ask  a  slight  advance  in  wages. 
We  know  that  these  new  men  are  not  getting  near  enough,  and 
the  records  of  the  company  will  show  that  they  are  not  retaining 
the  new  men  in  their  service,  and  the  reason  for  that  is  that  they 
are  not  paid  a  proper  and  sufficient  amount  for  their  services. 
Rent  and  provisions  and  everything  is  so  high  that  they  cannot 
exist  at  the  wages  paid.  Now  this  is  not  like  other  jobs  in  many 
respects.  We  have  got  to  have  a  good  deal  of  clothing;  we  have  got 
to  have  a  good  many  shoes;  we  have  got  a  good  deal  of  washing  to 
be  done,  and  these  things  all  cost  money.  We  have  got  to  pre- 
sent a  neat  and  clean  appearance  to  the  public  at  all  times,  and  it 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  35 

takes  a  little  money  to  do  those  things,  if  the  men  keep  up  their 
personal  appearance  and  do  as  they  are  required  to  do  by  our  book 
of  rules.  And  the  only  way  that  we  see  in  regard  to  the  wage  scale 
is  to  come  before  the  company  and  tell  them  that  the  men  are 
not  sufficiently  taken  care  of  financially,  and  ask  them  for  a  fair 
and  substantial  increase  in  wage." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "That  is  a  good  talk.  That  is  the  way  I 
like  to  hear  men  talk.  Has  anyone  else  got  anything  to  say  on 
this  wage  scale?" 

Mr.  Gillan:  "Well,  I  believe  the  company  is  able  to  pay 
more  wages.  I  came  here  twelve  years  ago  and  you  were  paying 
20  cents  then,  and  I  am  sure  from  what  I  have  observed  that  they 
could  afford  to  pay  what  we  are  asking  now  just  as  well  or  better 
than  they  could  afford  to  pay  the  20  cents  then.  That  is  my  idea. 
The  city  has  grown  a  great  deal  in  the  last  ten  years.  There  are 
many  thousands  more  people  here  now  than  there  was  ten  years 
ago,  and  the  receipts,  according  to  my  observation,  are  very  much 
more  than  they  were  ten  or  twelve  years  ago. 

"And  also  the  discrimination  in  the  wage  scale.  I  do  not 
think  it  is  right  at  all.  The  difference  in  the  wage  scale  ought  not 
to  extend  over  a  period  of  more  than  two  or  three  years.  That  is 
as  long  as  there  ought  to  be  any  difference,  if  there  should  be  any 
at  all.  I  am  in  favor  of  a  flat  rate  myself.  But  the  time  certainly 
hadn't  ought  to  be  over  the  third  year.  After  a  man  has  been  two 
or  three  years  on  the  road  he  certainly  is  as  good  as  he  ever  will 
be,  and  he  ain't  getting  nothing  but  a  living  anyhow  and  one  ought 
to  have  as  much  as  the  other.  I  have  always  thought  that  one 
man  was  as  good  as  another  if  he  is  doing  his  duty  to  the  public 
and  to  the  company.  We  cannot  all  be  president  of  the  street 
car  company,  and  we  cannot  all  be  one  thing  or  another,  but  it 
takes  a  man  to  run  a  car  just  as  much  as  it  takes  a  man  to  be 
president  of  the  company." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "That  is  right." 

Mr.  Gillan  :  "  And  it  takes  his  time  and  all  of  his  time  from 
daylight  until  dark.  I  have  had  a  run  for  seven  years,  and  I  get  up 
every  morning  at  a  quarter  after  four  and  I  don't  get  home  until 
a  quarter  after  seven.  I  have  little  time  with  my  family,  and  what 
little  time  I  have  I  spend  with  my  family.  I  can't  go  out  in  the 
evening;  it  is  too  late.  I  get  my  supper  and  roll  into  bed.  I  get 
up  and  eat  my  breakfast  and  go  to  work.  And  that  is  all  there 
is  to  it. " 

Mr.  Wattles:     " That  is  about  all  there  is  for  any  of  us, " 

Mr.  Gillan  :  "  A  man  that  has  to  get  up  early  has  to  go  to  bed 
early,  and  there  is  no  getting  around  that.  You  have  got  to  put 
in  twelve  to  fourteen  hours  to  get  in  ten  hours,  and  ten  hours  is 
as  much  as  any  man  can  work.  When  I  go  home  in  the  evening 
I  do  not  even  eat  supper  with  my  family.  They  eat  supper  now 
before  I  am  home,  because  I  get  home  too  late.     I  do  not  get  home 


38  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

now  until  a  quarter  past  seven,  and  then  whatever  work  I  have  to 
do  around  the  house  has  to  be  done  afterwards.  I  do  not  think 
it  is  necessary  that  it  should  be  that  way,  at  all.  I  think  that 
when  a  man  has  to  go  to  work  early  it  should  be  arranged  so  that  he 
can  get  home  at  the  time  that  the  ordinary  working  man  does. 

"And  another  thing,  talking  about  the  union — " 

Mr.  Wattles:  "Now,  let  us  get  through  with  this  wage 
matter.  I  want  to  hear  what  all  of  you  have  to  say,  because 
that  is  the  whole  thing." 

Mr.  Gillan:  "I  honestly  believe  we  have  not  asked  any- 
thing that  the  company  would  not  be  justified  in  gi*anting.  I 
beUeve  the  scale  we  present  here  is  a  just  one. " 

Mr.  Poncelow:  "Isn't  it  a  fact  that  the  men's  earning 
capacity  has  been  doubled  in  the  last  seven  years?" 

Mr.  Wattles:     "No,  that  is  not  a  fact." 

Mr.  Poncelow:  "Well,  eight  years  ago  we  made  so  many 
round  trips  for  a  day's  work,  for  ten  hours,  and  now  we  make  one 
more  round  trip  than  we  did  at  that  time,  in  the  same  length  of 
time.  Eight  to  ten  minutes  is  taken  off  each  trip,  each  round  trip. 
The  city  has  grown.  Lots  of  people  have  come  to  the  city  since 
that  time,  and  settled  here.     We  carry  a  great  many  more  people. " 

Mr.  Poncelow  (continuing) :  "  It  seems  to  me  Uke  the  earn- 
ing capacity  has  been  increased  quite  a  bit. " 

Mr.  Lear:  "I  think  about  that  pretty  much  the  same  as 
Mr.  Poncelow.  When  we  first  started  to  run  to  South  Omaha,  we 
ran  from  the  barn  to  N  street  in  South  Omaha,  and  we  made  five 
trips  in  eleven  hours,  and  now  we  run  to  Thirty-sixth  and  Ames 
avenue,  and '  we  go  around  the  loop  at  Twenty-sixth  in  South 
Omaha,  and  they  have  cut  us  down  to  one  hour  and  fifty-five 
minutes  for  the  round  trip  and  added  about  two  miles  more  of 
road.  So  I  think  that  our  earning  capacity  has  increased  a  good 
deal.  We  got  that  many  more  miles  to  run  than  we  used  to  run 
in  eleven  hours,  and  now  we  run  it  in  less  than  ten.  Nine  hours 
and  thirty-five  minutes,  I  think  it  is.  And  the  line  has  been 
extended  from  36th  and  Ames  to  Forty-second  and  Ames;  and  now 
we  make  the  five  round  trips  in  ten  hours;  or  two  hours  to  the 
trip;  and  on  Sunday  morning  we  go  to  Forth-sixth  and  Q  streets, 
and  I  make  it  in  the  same  time,  in  two  hours,  making  a  distance 
of  four  or  five  miles.  So  I  think,  that  considering  the  time 
occupied  in  the  running  of  the  cars  and  the  rest  of  it,  we  ought  to 
be  entitled  to  some  substantial  increase.  Of  course,  if  the  com- 
pany think  they  cannot  do  it,  cannot  give  us  an  increase,  they  ought 
to  be  wilUng  to  arbitrate  the  question  and  show  the  reason  why 
they  cannot  do  it.  So  I  think  the  question  ought  to  be  submitted 
to  a  fair  arbitration;  the  company  could  appoint  one  arbitrator 
and  the  union  another,  and  these  two  select  a  third;  and  if  that 
could  be  done,  I  think  it  would  be  more  satisfactory  to  all  con- 
cerned. " 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  37 

Mr.  Poncelow:  "Don't  you  appreciate  the  fact  that  you 
have  got  some  pretty  good  men  running  your  cai-s,  taking  the 
whole  system?" 

Mr.  Wattles  :  "  We  have  the  best  lot  of  men  there  is  in  any 
city." 

Mr,  Poncelow:  "Then  they  ought  to  be  paid  according  to 
their  ability." 

Mr.  W^ attles  :  "  Now,  men,  you  have  stated  your  reasons 
fairly;  and,  after  all,  this  matter  of  pay  is  the  principal  thing  and 
the  most  important  thing  to  everybody  who  works," 

Members  of  the  Committee:     "Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "I  don't  care  what  they  work  at  or  what 
they  do,  other  conditions  are  wiped  away  when  they  talk  about 
the  pay.  That  is  a  matter  that  I  Uke  to  talk  to  you  about  and 
like  to  get  your  ideas  on,  because — why?  Because  it  has  been  my 
pride,  ever  since  I  have  been  connected  wdth  this  company,  to 
better  the  conditions  of  the  men  in  every  way  possible,  and  every 
motion  that  has  been  made  for  increase  of  pay,  and  there  have 
been  three  of  them  in  the  last  six  years,  has  met  with  my  hearty 
support  and  apprpval,  and  while  the  motions  have  been  made  by 
others  I  have  always  been  heartily  in  favor  of  them. " 

"  Now,  I  want  to  talk  with  you  right  square  down  into  the 
bottom  of  your  hearts,  and  tell  you  some  things  that  you 
probably  do  not  know, 

"  You  think  that  the  man  who  sits  up  here  as  president  han 
a  nice  time,  draws  big  pay,  don't  have  to  work  much,  and  has 
a  good  time.  You  are  awfully  mistaken  if  you  have  that  idea  in 
your  heads.  There  are  all  kinds  of  troubles  that  come  to  me  and 
come  every  day,  that  concern  you,  that  I  am  up  here  fighting  over, 
to  preserve,  if  possible,  the  ability  of  this  company  to  pay  its 
men  not  only  good  wages,  but  better  wages  than  any  other  city  of 
her  kind  can  pay  and  does  pay. 

"  A  few  weeks  ago  the  question  of  levying  an  occupation  tax 
against  this  company  was  brought  up  here  in  the  city  council, 
and  an  ordinance  calling  for  a  levy  of  five  per  cent  of  our  gross 
receipts  for  an  occupation  tax  was  proposed.  It  would  have  taken 
$100,000  a  year  from  the  company.  I  went  before  the  city  council 
and  pleaded  for  you  men.  I  said:  'Don't  levy  this  tax  against 
this  company  and  cripple  it  so  that  it  cannot  increase  the  pay  of 
its  men — because  that  is  what  I  want  to  do,  and  that  is  what  I  will 
do,  if  you  will  let  this  thing  go  by.'  But  the  poUticians  were  there, 
and  they  got  on  their  feet  and  said,  'Oh,  well,  that  is  all  rot;  it  is 
all  fooUsh  talk,'     I  know  it  was  not  fooUsh  talk, 

"  Last  night  there  was  introduced  in  the  city  council  an  ordi- 
nance to  require  this  company  to  reduce  its  fares  to  3^  or  4  cents. 
That  ordinance  is  pending  before  the  city  council  today.  If  that 
ordinance  passes  and  becomes  a  law,  what  are  you  men  up  against? 
An  increase?      No.     Positively  a  reduction  of  pay,  or  quit  the 


38  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

job.  That  is  all.  Why?  Simply  because  you  cannot  carry  passen- 
gers from  Benson  to  Albright,  as  you  do  every  day,  or  from  Florence 
to  South  Omaha,  for  the  fare  we  get  now.  It  costs  more  to 
carry  them  than  we  get  for  carrying  them — actual  cost.  Now,  it 
seems  Uke  a  big  thing  to  go  out  on  the  road  and  gather  up  a  pile 
of  nickels  and  turn  in  a  big  day's  work,  and  it  is  a  big  thing.  But 
when  you  come  to  distribute  that  money  and  see  how  little  is 
left  after  the  year  is  over,  it  looks  Uke  thirty  cents. 

"  Now,  what  are  the  troubles  that  I  have  to  look  after? 
You  say  that  the  earning  capacity  of  the  company  has  been  in- 
creased.    It  has." 

Mr.  Poncelow:     "I  say  the  earning  capacity  of  the  men." 

Mr.  Wattles  :  "  The  earning  capacity  of  the  men  has  been 
increased,  but  the  expenses  of  the  company  have  been  more  than 
proportionately  increased  all  the  time.  We  have  twice  as  many 
men  working  for  the  company  today  as  we  had  five  years  ago. 
Twace  as  many  men.  Not  only  that,  but  look  at  all  these  additions 
and  extensions  that  the  company  has  built!  Look  at  the  fact 
that  we  have  had  to  throw  away  a  power  station  up  here  that 
cost  us  $750,000,  and  go  down  there  on  the  river  front  and  build  a 
modern  new  one  to  furnish  the  power  with  which  to  operate  this 
system.  We  had  to  throw  that  away,  and  go  east  and  raise 
money  to  build  a  new  one  that  has  cost  a  million  dollars,  and  we 
will  have  to  spend  another  milUon  before  we  get  it  completed, 
and  big  enough  to  take  care  of  this  whole  thing.  We  have  to 
sell  bonds  with  which  to  get  that  money  to  make  these  extensions 
and  improvements. 

"  A  few  years  ago  we  had  to  throw  away  a  cable  system  here. 
We  had  a  cable  with  a  barn  and  everything  down  here  that  cost 
this  company  $2,000,000.  We  had  to  throw  it  away.  Why? 
Because  the  public  wouldn't  stand  for  it.  We  have  to  keep  up 
with  the  growth  of  the  city  and  keep  our  power  and  other  con- 
veniences up  to  the  demands  of  the  city  in  order  to  keep  the  city 
satisfied.  Now,  I  am  up  against  that  proposition  all  the  time. 
I  go  to  New  York  time  and  again  during  the  year.  What  for? 
To  have  a  good  time?  Not  on  your  life.  I  go  down  there  to  those 
money  men  who  have  the  money  that  we  have  got  to  have,  and 
I  sell  them  bonds  and  stock  of  this  company  and  get  their  money 
and  bring  it  out  here — seven  or  eight  million  dollars  of  it  in  the 
last  six  or  eight  years,  to  spend  in  the  development  of  this  system. 
If  I  go  down  there  to  those  fellows  and  say,  'Well,  we  had  to  enlarge 
our  expenses  a  good  deal  this  year,  our  revenues  were  cut  off,  and 
we  cannot  pay  the  interest  on  the  bonds,  or  we  cannot  pay  you 
any  dividend  on  your  stock  this  year  because  we  had  to  increase 
our  expenses,  but  we  want  some  more  money  for  next  year' — what 
are  they  going  to  say?  Why,  they  are  going  to  say,  'I  guess  we 
will  put  our  money  where  we  can  get  some  returns  on  it.'     That 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  39 

is  what  they  naturally  would  say.  And  that  is  a  problem  I  am 
right  against  here  most  of  the  time. 

"I  am  telUng  you  these  things  because  you  are  intelligent 
men,  and  you  can  see  some  of  these  things  are  up  to  me  all  the  time. 
Here  is  a  pressure  from  the  stockholders  of  this  company  for  an 
increase  of  the  dividend  on  their  stock.  Do  you  know  the  reply 
I  gave  these  stockholders?  I  said,  'Gentlemen,  before  I  will  ever 
vote  or  consent  to  an  increase  of  the  return  on  your  stock,  I  am 
going  to  pay  our  men  more  wages.' 

"Now,  that  is  my  position  exactly.  To  pay  you  men  the 
best  wages  that  any  men  get  in  similar  employment  in  the  country, 
and  not  stop  there,  either.  To  pay  you  the  very  best  wages  the 
company  can  afford  to  pay  you  right  along  all  the  time.  We  have 
done  it  in  the  past.  All  through  the  time  of  panic  and  depression, 
when  you  had  your  twenty  cents  an  hour  what  were  Kansas  City 
and  Minneapolis,  and  all  these  other  cities  around  us  paying? 
Fifteen.  You  were  getting  twenty.  What  are  they  paying  today? 
Are  any  of  them  paying  what  we  are  paying?  I  guess  you  have 
looked  it  up.  We  are  paying  the  top.  We  are  ahead  of  any  of 
them.  There  is  not  a  city  in  the  union  of  the  size  and  importance 
of  Omaha  that  pays  the  wages  we  pay  here. " 

Mr.  Nelson:     "What  about  Denver?" 

Mr.  Wattles:  "Denver.  Yes.  But  those  conditions  do 
not  prevail  in  Denver  that  prevail  here.  A  common  laborer  in 
Denver  gets  four  dollars  a  day.  Why?  Because  everything  he 
eats,  and  everything  he  wears,  and  everything  he  buys  has  to  be 
shipped  in  there  for  thousands  of  miles;  and  everything  costs 
more,  a  good  deal  more;  Uving  is  a  great  deal  higher  in  Denver 
than  it  is  here,  and  wages  are  higher  there  than  they  are  here.  But 
taking  those  things  into  consideration,  the  wages  we  pay  are  higher 
than  in  Denver. 

"  Now,  I  am  not  going  to  stop  there.  I  have  something  further 
to  tell  you  men.  I  have  these  problems  working  out  for  you,  and  I 
am  working  on  them  just  as  hard  as  I  can  work,  and  all  the  time  it 
is  my  poUcy  to  do  the  best  by  you  possible.  And  I  am  going  to 
say  to  you,  'Just  as  soon  as  this  company  can  see  its  way  clear  to 
increase  your  pay  you  are  going  to  get  an  increase.'  Now,  I  cannot 
do  it  under  pressure. 

"  Supposing  you  men  come  here  from  the  union  and  say,  'We 
are  going  to  have  a  strike  next  week  if  we  do  not  get  an  increase 
of  pay.'  If  you  were  in  my  place  what  would  you  say?  What 
could  you  say?  There  is  one  thing  you  could  say;  that  you  could 
not  do  it  under  this  sort  of  talk. 

"I  do  not  go  to  Mr.  Lenahan  and  say:  'Here,  unless  you  do 
so  and  so  you  are  going  to  lose  your  job;'  but  I  go  to  him  Uke  a 
friend.  I  say:  'You  are  a  good  man;  you  are  doing  the  best 
you  can,  and  I  am  going  to  stand  by  you  as  long  as  you  are,  and 
protect  you.'     Now,  that  is  the  sort  of  feeUng  I  want  the  employes 


40  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

of  this  company  to  have.  I  want  them  to  know  that  they  have  a 
man  right  here  who  will  protect  them,  and  you  are  going  to  get 
an  increase  of  pay.  You  are  not  going  to  get  it  today  or  next 
week,  but  you  are  going  to  get  it  just  as  soon  as  I  can  see  the  way 
clear,  without  putting  this  road  in  jeopardy  or  losing  its  credit, 
to  give  it  to  you.  And  I  want  to  get  your  ideas,  and  I  have  drawn 
them  out  here  today,  about  the  question  of  how  wide  you  want  this 
strip  to  be.  I  see  you  fellows  want  to  narrow  it  up.  It  was  not 
my  idea.  Now,  I  will  tell  you  honestly,  men,  that  that  is  not  my 
idea.  At  the  same  time,  I  am  always  open  to  conviction;  I  am 
always  open  to  argument.  I  am  going  to  see  a  whole  lot  of  our 
men  before  the  next  increase  comes  along — and  God  speed  the 
time  when  it  can  come.  I  am  going  to  see  a  v/hole  lot  of  you  and 
see  what  you  all  think  about  that,  and  I  am  going  to  try  and  strike 
an  average,  and  hit  as  many  of  you  as  near  right  as  I  can.  Now, 
my  idea  is  this:  If  there  is  not  any  hope  ahead  for  a  man,  why, 
it  is  a  pretty  dull  world.  If  he  can  see  that  next  year  he  is  going 
to  do  a  little  bit  better  than  he  is  doing  this  year;  going  to  go  along 
up  the  scale  a  Uttle,  he  has  more  incentive  to  be  a  good  workman ; 
and  I  don't  believe  that  a  man  the  first  year  that  he  goes  into 
the  employment  of  this  company  can  earn  for  this  company  any- 
thing Uke  the  amount  that  he  can  earn  after  an  experience  like 
you  men  here  have  had.  Why?  Because  he  cannot  get  the  fares, 
if  he  is  a  conductor.  He  don't  get  them.  He  loses  sight  of  a 
lot  of  them.  They  get  away  from  him.  In  the  next  place,  if 
he  is  a  motorman,  he  cannot  avoid  accidents  Hke  you  men  do. 
Why,  we  have  it  every  day.  We  pay  forty  to  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
sometimes  as  high  as  sixty  thousand  dollars  a  year  for  damage 
suits,  through  the  carelessness  of  the  new  men  that  we  have  to 
take  on  here.     We  don't  pay  it  as  a  rule  for  the  old  men. " 

Mr.  Lear:     "There  is  a  point  I  would  like — " 

Mr.  Wattles:  "We  don't  pay  it  for  the  old  men.  The 
records  will  bear  me  out  in  what  I  say." 

Mr.  Lenahan:     "What  reply  will — " 

Mr.  Wattles:  "I  am  saying  things  to  you  now,  and  if  you 
will  listen  you  will  hear  something.  I  say  that  the  new  men  have 
more  accidents;  they  have  more  trouble;  they  are  not  as  loyal  to 
the  company;  they  are  not  as  good  employes. 

"  Now,  this  question  has  been  raised  here.  It  is  not  really 
pertinent  here,  but  I  bring  it  in  because  it  has  been  said  here 
that  the  older  men  have  been  discharged  for  trivial  causes  and 
discriminated  against  sometimes.  Why,  there  are  140  of  our  em- 
ployes today  who  are  drawing  top  wages.  And  do  you  know  this? 
Let  me  tell  you  a  fact:  I  have  given  orders  to  the  superintendent 
never  to  discharge  an  old  man  without  consulting  me  about  it. 
Now,  then,  the  old  men  are  not  discharged.  Why?  Because  we 
do  not  want  to  lose  them.  We  will  overlook  a  whole  lot  of  things 
from  an  old  man  that  we  could  not  afford  to  overlook  from  a  new 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  41 

man  at  all;  and  it  don't  make  any  difference  to  me  whether  the 
old  man  is  a  union  man  or  whether  he  is  not;  he  is  going  to  stay 
in  the  employ  of  this  company  if  I  can  find  a  possible  excuse  for 
keeping  him  there;  and  it  is  not  the  desire  of  this  company  to  get 
rid  of  its  old  men  because  it  has  to  pay  them  more  wages.  It  is 
the  desire  of  the  company  to  keep  the  old  men  and  get  as  many  of 
your  experience  as  possible.  I  wish  they  were  all  drawing 
twenty-six  cents  an  hour,  because  they  would  be  earning  it.  - 

"Now,  that  has  been  my  idea  in  having  the  scale  as  it  is, 
because  a  man  cannot  in  one  or  two  years  become  as  proficient 
as  he  will  be  after  eight  or  ten;  he  cannot  become  as  experienced 
or  as  valuable  to  the  company,  and  it  has  been  my  notion  that  he 
should  not  receive  as  much  pay.  But  I  am  open  to  conviction, 
and  I  am  going,  as  I  say,  to  consult  a  lot  of  you  men  before  the 
next  raise  of  pay  comes  along,  and  when  that  comes  I  am  going 
to  try  and  adjust  it  in  accordance  with  the  ideas  of  the  most  of 
you,  if  I  can.  If  you  say  you  want  the  thing  crowded  up  and  the 
new  man  to  get  more  pay,  regardless  of  whether  the  old  ones  do 
or  not,  why,  if  we  cannot  afford  to  advance  them  all,  we  will 
advance  the  younger  ones  and  crowd  the  scale  up  a  little;  but  if 
you  want  the  scale,  say,  at  a  five-year  limit  or  leave  a  bigger  limit 
still  for  the  men  who  have  been  here  ten  years,  why,  that  would 
be  my  idea  about  it.  But  I  am  getting  information  here  from 
you  men,  and  it  will  all  count  when  we  come  up  to  that  question. 

"  Now,  so  much  about  that  wage  clause  in  your  contract, 
because  that  is  the  principal  clause  that  is  in  there.  There  isn't 
another  thing  in  that  contract  there,  when  you  get  right  down  to 
brass  tacks,  that  amounts  to  a  snap  of  your  finger,  excepting  the 
question  of  wages. 

"Don't  get  off  on  any  tangent.  Don't  get  to  thinking  that 
you  are  abused,  or  that  any  member  of  your  union  is  abused  or 
discriminated  against  in  a  manner  that  is  going  to  require  any  fight 
between  this  company  and  the  union  to  straighten  it  out — because 
it  will  not.  Why?  Because  I  am  going  to  do  what  I  say  I  will  do. 
If  any  union  man  is  receiving  mistreatment  from  any  of  the  officers 
of  this  company,  all  that  he  has  got  to  do  is  to  come  to  me.  It  don't 
need  any  arbitration  board.  I  will  straighten  it  out  for  him. 
And  if  I  don't — if  I  don't  straighten  it  out,  then  it  is  time  enough 
for  you  men  to  come  to  me  and  say,  'Here,  we  want  to  talk  about 
some  other  manner  of  straightening  things  out.'  But  have  any 
of  you  men  come  to  me  with  any  complaints?  Not  one  of  you. 
I  have  not  heard  about  these  cases  that  you  mention  here. 

"  I  have  often  heard  from  non-union  men,  from  a  large  number 
of  them.  They  have  been  to  me  with  complaints  about  being 
annoyed  and  harassed  and  insulted  by  union  men. 

"  A  few  days  ago,  this  came  to  me.  I  am  going  to  state  it 
just  as  it  came  to  me,  so  that  you  can  see  that  I  have  quite  a  little 
trouble  here.     A  non-union  man  came  up  here  and  he  made  this 


42  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

statement.  He  said:  'I  have  been  working  for  the  company 
for  about  eleven  years.  I  have  been  running  with  a  motorman. 
He  and  I  have  been  partners  for  a  long  time.'  I  forget  how  long 
he  said.  'We  have  always  been  good  friends  until  this  union 
matter  came  up.  He  joined  the  union  and  I  did  not. '  Or  a  con- 
ductor I  should  say.  This  was  a  motorman  talking  to  me.  He 
said:  'He  joined  the  union  and  I  did  not.  We  had  a  good  many 
hot  arguments  at  first  about  it,  and  finally  I  said  we  would  disagree 
about  it,  and  we  quit.  It  has  gone  along  that  way  until  recently 
this  agitation  has  been  on  here,  and  a  good  deal  of  talk  going, 
and  that  fellow  has  got  mad  at  me  and  he  won't  treat  me  decent 
at  all;  he  tries  to  put  «ie  in  the  hole  all  the  time.'  He  said:  'The 
other  evening  he  came  up  to  a  friend,  a  labor  union  man,  and  right 
in  my  hearing,  he  stood  right  there  and  the  friend  stood  right  there 

where  I  heard  him;  he  said,  "You  see  that  d d  scab  running  this 

car;  he  is  a  d d  scab;  he  won't  join  the  union;  he  won't  help 

himself  or  help  anybody  else."  He  said  it  right  in  the  hearing  of 
this  man.  Now  I  think  that  man  is  the  man  you  say  the  superin- 
tendent talked  to.  I  think  he  is  the  man  that  the  superintendent 
called  down  to  his  office  and  said:  'Why  John,'  or  'Peter,'  or  what- 
ever his  name  is,  'did  you  say  this  to  your  motorman?'  And  he 
said,  *I  never  talked  to  my  motorman  about  that.  I  never  said 
any  such  thing  as  that  to  him.'  'Well,  did  you  say  it  right  in  his 
hearing?'  And  the  fellow  flushed  up,  and  he  had  to  admit  that  he 
had." 

Mr.  Len ahan  :  "  I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  Wattles,  that  gentle- 
man is  a  motorman  himself." 

Mr.  Wattles  :  "  Well,  maybe  he  is.  But  that  is  an  illustra- 
tion of  some  of  the  troubles  I  have  in  connection  with  this  whole 
affair.  You  boys  are  not  the  only  ones  having  troubles.  The 
non-union  fellows  are  having  troubles,  and  bring  them  in  here. 
I  have  these  complaints  coming  in  here  all  the  time. " 

Mr.  Len  ah  an  :  "  There  are  not  any  union  men  making  com- 
plaints. " 

Mr.  Wattles:     "There  are  a  good  many  of  them." 

Mr.  Gillan:     "There  won't  be  many  very  long." 

Mr.  Lear:  "You  spoke  of  the  new  men  having  accidents. 
There  is  a  reason  for  that,  and  of  course  my  judgment  may  be 
wrong  about  it,  and  I  have  not  had  a  student  for  several  years; 
it  must  be  four  or  five  years  since  I  broke  in  a  new  man,  and  I  don't 
know  but  what  I  am  glad  that  I  have  not  had  to  do  it. " 

Mr.  Wattles:     "It  is  a  nuisance." 

Mr.  Lear:  "It  is  a  nuisance  when  you  have  tried  to  break 
in  a  new  man,  and  he  is  no  good  and  you  turn  him  down  and  then 
you  find  that  the  company  keeps  him,  puts  him  on  with  somebody 
else  and  keeps  him  here  thirty  days  or  more  breaking  him  in. 
One  of  those  fellows,  that  I  had  turned  down  for  the  reason  that 
he  was  no  good,  slid  into  a  Dodge  street  car  through  pure  negligence. 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  43 

I  think  the  company  is  negligent  when  they  keep  a  man  that  is 
negligent.  When  the  company  puts  a  man  of  that  kind  in  charge 
of  a  car,  they  stand  a  big  chance  of  having  to  pay  for  an  accident. 
Now,  when  they  put  a  new  man  on  with  an  old  and  experienced 
man  that  is  competent  to  break  him  in,  that  man  ought  to  be  a 
competent  judge  whether  that  new  man  is  going  to  make  a  motor- 
man  or  not,  and  after  he  has  been  turned  down  by  that  man  as 
incompetent  he  should  not  be  turned  over  to  four  or  five  others 
to  try  to  make  something  out  of  him.  But  that  is  just  what  has 
been  done  on  this  road  lots  of  times.  I  think  it  was  the  last  man 
I  had,  I  would  tell  him  something  and  he  would  say,  'I  have  for- 
gotten. '  I  says,  'My  God,  man,  you  have  got  to  remember  these 
things.'  He  (hdn't  seem  to  be  able  to  remember  anything  and  I 
turned  him  down.  And  then  he  was  turned  over  to  another  man, 
and  he  didn't  find  anything  wrong  with  him;  and  that  man  was 
given  a  car  and  he  had  all  kinds  of  accidents,  and  finally  he  had  to 
be  fired. 

"  If  you  put  a  new  man  on  with  a  man  who  is  undertaking  to 
break  him  in,  he  ought  to  be  the  judge  of  whether  that  man  is 
competent  to  run  a  car  or  not.  I  have  known  of  men  who  had 
been  turned  down  five  or  six  times,  and  finally  some  one  passed 
him  and  he  was  put  on  and  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  run  into 
something.  I  don't  think  a  student,  who  has  been  given  a  trial 
and  been  turned  down  by  a  competent  man,  should  be  turned  over 
to  several  others  until  he  finally  gets  through  and  then  allowed  to 
run  a  car.  It  is  just  this  class  of  men  who  are  responsible  for  a 
good  many  of  the  accidents,  that  would  not  have  occurred  if  a 
competent  man  had  been  in  charge  of  the  car.  The  company  ought 
not  to  keep  men  who  have  been  turned  down." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "That  is  right.  I  agree  with  you.  The 
company  ought  not  to  do  anything  of  that  sort.  Let  us  stop  a 
minute  and  smoke  up,  and  give  the  stenographer  a  rest. " 

(Note — Mr.  Wattles  passes  cigars  and  a  short  recess  is  taken.) 

Mr.  Wattles:  "Now,  if  anybody  wants  to  ask  any  more 
questions  about  the  wage  business,  let  us  thresh  that  out  before 
we  take  up  anything  further." 

Mr.  Gillan  :  "  Well,  I  have  nothing  further  to  say  on  the 
wage  question,  but  you  brought  up  some  things  in  your  talk  here 
that  we  ought  to  say  something  on,  if  we  have  the  right  to.  It 
is  concerning  the  union.  You  were  speaking  about  the  city 
council  introducing  an  ordinance  to  reduce  the  fare.  Well,  now, 
I  do  not  think  that  any  street  car  man  would  be  in  favor  of  any- 
thing of  that  kind,  and  there  is  where  I  think  that  you  will  find  a 
great  benefit  in  having  your  employes  in  an  organization,  where 
they  could  help  you  a  great  deal  better  than  they  can  as  indi- 
viduals; and,  furthermore,  I  cannot  see  any  reason  why  you  should 
not  treat  with  your  employes  as  a  body.     It  seems  to  me  that 


44  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

you  should  and  I  cannot  see  any  reason — any  good  reason  at  all 
why  you  should  not  do  it. " 

Mr.  Wattles:     "  I  will  tell  you  in  a  moment. " 

Mr.  Gillan:  "The  committee  can  come  up  and  talk  with 
you,  and  tell  you  what  the  men  want  and  how  they  feel,  and  you 
can  state  your  side  better  than  you  can  to  a  thousand  individuals 
running  up  here  with  one  complaint  and  another.  That  is  all  I 
have  got  to  say." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "Let  me  ask  you  this  one  question:  Did  I 
ever  refuse  to  receive  your  committee  here  and  talk  with  you?" 

Mr.  Gillan  :  "  Well,  no,  not  that  I  know  of.  But  you  refused 
to  make  any  agreement  with  us  or  recognize  us  as  a  body.  Of 
course  we  could  not  bring  any  non-union  men  in  with  us;  we  cannot 
force  them  to  come  in." 

Mr.  Wattles  :  "  Let  me  tell  you  about  that.  There  are  a 
lot  of  men  in  this  company  who  do  not  belong  to  the  union,  and  do 
not  want  to  belong  to  it  and  never  will  join  it.  They  have  rights 
that  are  just  as  sacred  and  just  as  binding  on  this  company  as 
your  rights  are,  and  they  have  a  right  to  be  treated  just  as  you  men 
are  treated. " 

Mr.  Gillan:     "Sure." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "You  have  a  right  to  be  treated  just  the 
same  way  as  they  are,  and  you  all  have  a  right  to  be  treated  square. 
And  the  only  way  in  God's  world  that  I  know  about  treating  a 
situation  of  this  sort  is  just  the  way  I  am  treating  you.  I  say  now 
to  all  of  you  we  are  going  to  treat  you  all  fair;  going  to  do  what 
is  right  to  you. 

"  I  will  tell  you  men — and  I  have  said  as  much  before — that 
I  would  rather  there  would  not  be  any  union  here,  and  am  sorry 
the  union  has  come  here.  Because  we  have  had  a  whole  lot  of 
trouble  that  we  never  had  before  it  came,  and  it  brings  up  conflict 
all  the  time  between  motorman  and  conductor  and  between  the 
men  themselves,  and  controversies  all  the  time  between  these  men, 
because  some  of  them  belong  to  an  organization  and  some  of  them 
do  not. 

"  Now,  when  you  say  to  a  free  man  in  these  United  States  that 
he  has  got  to  belong  to  a  union  in  order  to  get  a  day's  pay,  you  are 
going  an  awful  long  ways;  you  are  saying  something  that  you  have 
no  right  to  say.  You  have  no  right  to  bring  about  a  condition 
where  a  man,  who  does  not  want  to  belong  to  a  union,  must  eithef 
belong  to  your  union  or  starve  because  he  does  not  see  as  you  do. 
That  is  the  thing  that  the  old  revolutionary  fathers  fought  for; 
that  is  the  thing  that  is  written  in  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  it  is  the  thing  that  I  am  going  to  hold  sacred  as  long 
as  I  live,  in  any  capacity  whatever.  I  am  not  going  to  treat  A 
man  any  different  who  does  not  belong  to  a  union  than  I  treat 
the  man  who  does.  And  that  is  the  principal  reason  about  the 
union  end  of  it.     But  I  think  we  are  getting  away  from  the  real 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  4ft 

matters  that  are  grievances — if  they  are  grievances.  The  princi- 
pal one  is  the  matter  of  wages  that  we  have  talked  about.  Now, 
if  anybody  has  anything  further  to  say  on  the  question  of  wages, 
let  us  have  that,  and  then  let  us  take  up  the  next  question. " 

Mr.  Lear:  "In  bringing  up  the  question  of  the  council 
reducing  the  fares  I  have  one  thing  I  want  to  say:  I  think  every 
man  in  this  hall  would  be  opposed  to  anything  of  the  kind,  and  that 
we  will  do  all  in  our  power  in  every  way  to  head  that  off,  because 
I  do  not  think  that  it  is  fair  and  just,  and  I  think  that  the  five- 
cent  fare  is  Uttle  enough,  and  ought  to  be  retained  as  the  standard 
and  should  not  be  reduced  from  that  figure;  and  I  think  we  should 
go  on  record  as  saying  that  we  will  oppose  anything  of  the  kind 
which  will  come  up;  we  will  oppose  it  as  a  body,  and  we  will  bring 
it  up  before  the  body.  We  can  oppose  the  measure  as  a  body, 
and  go  before  the  council  as  a  body  and  say  that  we  do  not 
want  it.  There  are  five  or  six  members  of  the  council  that  belong 
to  the  unions,  and  as  union  men  I  am  sure  we  could  get  the  com- 
mittee of  the  whole  to  call  it  off.  We  could  go  up  there  and  make 
a  decided  stand  against  anything  of  the  kind  being  done. " 

Mr.  Wattles:  "Don't  you  think  it  is  in  your  interest  to 
do  that?" 

Mr.  Lear:     "Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Wattles:     "Why  don't  you  do  it?" 

Mr.  Lear  :  "  Well,  it  is  our  interest.  I  say  it  is  our  interest. 
I  don't  say  that  it  is  not  our  interest." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "Can  you  afford  to  sit  here  and  permit  the 
council  to  pass  such  an  ordinance,  knowing  that  after  it  had  passed 
it,  it  would  not  only  shut  off  any  possibility  of  an  increase,  but 
create  a  condition  where  you  must  have  a  decrease?" 

Mr.  Lear:  "Well,  I  hadn't  seen  it  and  didn't  know  of  it 
until  you  told  us  about  it.  I  did  not  know  anything  about  this 
being  before  the  council.  I  have  never  read  about  it  or  heard  of 
anything  of  the  kind  until  you  spoke  of  it  here,  and  would  not  like 
to  say  what  they  have  done  or  have  not  done;  and  if  they  should 
go  on  record  with  reference  to  an  ordinance  such  as  is  contemplated, 
to  the  effect  that  it  would  be  a  detriment  to  the  men  in  the  employ 
of  the  street  railway  company,  and  would  result  in  a  decrease  of 
their  wages  and  that  we  would  be  opposed  to  such  an  ordinance, 
and  if  we  passed  it  as  a  body  I  think  it  would  have  considerable 
weight  with  the  council.  And  I  am  sure  the  committee  will  agree 
with  me  that  we  would  be  glad  to  do  that  at  any  time. " 

Mr.  Gillan:  "In  some  cities  reduction  of  fare  has  not  re- 
duced the  income  of  the  company;  there  has  been  more  riding 
done  and  the  income  was  increased.  Of  course,  I  do  not  know  that 
it  would  result  that  way  in  this  city. " 

Mr.  Lenahan:  "Naturally,  Mr.  Wattles,  we  would  oppose 
such  a  movement  on  the  part  of  the  city  council  as  that.  Yet  you 
leave  us  in  a  very  pecuUar  and  embarrassing  position  to  go  and 


46  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

defend  the  rights  of  the  company  in  that  respect,  and  use  our 
influence  with  our  fellow  workmen  that  are  in  the  city  council  at 
the  present  time,  owing  to  the  view  that  you  take  of  the  trade 
union  movement. 

"  You  say  that  you  have  not  seen  any  good  results  come  from 
organization.  There  are  very  few  cities  in  the  country,  as  you 
know,  today,  of  any  importance,  that  are  not  organized,  and  the 
workers  certainly  must  realize  that  these  organizations  are  bene- 
ficial to  them  or  they  would  not  be  kept  up  as  they  are;  and  away 
down  in  the  bottom  of  your  heart,  Mr.  Wattles,  you  know  that  or- 
ganization is  a  benefit  to  the  workman;  and  you  know  that  an 
appeal  from  an  individual  working  for  a  corporation — no  matter 
how  fair-minded  you  may  be — an  appeal  made  to  you  under  the 
same  conditions  from  a  single  individual,  would  not  have  the  same 
force  with  you  as  would  an  appeal  or  representations  coming  from 
an  organized  body,  represented  by  a  committee  of  level-headed, 
well-balanced  men.  You  agree  with  me  in  that.  You  agree  with 
me  that  you  would  not  take  notice  of  me  or  any  other  man,  if  I 
come  here  and  say,  as  an  individual:  'Mr.  Wattles,  the  street  car 
boys  are  not  paid  enough.' 

"I  am  not  coming  here  on  my  own  hook  today.  I  am  not 
talking  to  you  simply  because  I  want  to  talk  to  you.  I  am  talking 
to  you,  sir,  because  I  was  selected  from  your  employes  to  tell  you 
the  situation,  and  I  know  that  what  I  say  to  you  has  more  weight 
and  bearing  with  you  than  if  I  came  up  here  to  speak  to  you  as  an 
individual. 

"  Now  I  hope  that  you  will  not  take  too  pessimistic  a  view  of 
this  affair,  because  it  is  so  serious,  and  it  will  only  throw  us  into  a 
position  where  we  cannot  straighten  it  out  with  the  men,  no  matter 
how  we  talk  to  them  when  we  go  back  to  make  our  report.  We 
may  go  back  with  all  the  determination  in  the  world  to  say  to  the 
men,  'Have  patience  and  hold  back  a  little  while,  and  Mr.  Wattles 
will  do  everything  in  his  power  for  us  that  he  possibly  can  do.'  But 
they  will  say,  'We  instructed  you  to  bring  back  to  us  a  business 
proposition  and  to  deal  with  this  company  along  trade  union  lines, 
along  the  Hues  of  the  constitution  and  bylaws  of  the  Amalgamated 
Association  of  Street  and  Electric  Railway  Employes  of  America.' 
That  is  what  they  will  say  to  us.  And  if  we  do  not  do  our  duty, 
they  will  turn  us  to  one  side  and  they  will  appoint  another  com- 
mittee, or  they  will  probably  order  a  strike  and  go  out  in  the  street. 

"  I  am  stating  the  truth — I  am  telling  the  truth  when  I  say — 
I  speak  the  truth  and  speak  from  the  very  bottom  of  my  heart, 
and  am  teUing  the  honest  truth  just  as  is  presented  to  me — that 
this  will  be  their  response  when  we  go  back  to  them  and  tell  them 
what  you  have  said — the  kind  words  you  have  said.  We  may  state 
all  of  them  just  as  you  have  stated  them.  But  I  say  now  that  I 
know — I  feel  that  I  know  the  temper  of  the  men,  and  we  cannot 
keep  them  within  our  control  with  the  promises  that  you  have 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  47 

made,  without  you  are  willing  to  arbitrate  or  get  down  to  some 
specific  means  whereby  they  will  know  in  future  under  what  con- 
ditions they  are  working.  And  that  is  the  reason  that  we  are 
appealing  to  you.  I  am  telUng  the  truth  when  I  say  that  this  is 
a  serious  situation,  and  I  do  assure  you  that  it  is  most  serious; 
and  if  there  is  anything  that  you  can  give  to  us  in  writing  that  you 
think  would  satisfy  the  employes  of  this  company,  with  your 
signature  to  it,  I  wish  that  you  would  consider  it  and  take  it  up 
and  have  it  prepared  so  that  we  may  present  it  at  our  meeting; 
and  you  won't  say  then  that  this  committee  misrepresented  your 
views  or  your  ideas,  and  you  cannot  say  that  some  of  them  were 
radicals,  were  hotheaded  and  misunderstood  and  misconstrued 
your  words.  Because  I  know  these  gentlemen  well,  and  I  know- 
there  is  not  one  of  them  will  misconstrue  your  words,  but  he  will 
tell  the  truth,  the  whole  truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth;  and  so 
far  as  we  have  gone  in  this  wage  scale  and  the  other  questions  that 
we  have  touched  upon,  I  believe  if  we  go  back  and  relate  the  situa- 
tion, that  we  may  bring  upon  ourselves  troubles  that  we  will  have 
an  awful  time  to  untangle;  and  a  stitch  in  time  saves  nine,  as  the 
old  woman  said.  There  is  nothing  like  coming  out  fair  and  plain 
and  telUng  you  the  exact  situation,  and  probably  you  will  recon- 
sider and  give  us  something  in  writing  that  will  satisfy  the  employes 
of  your  company. " 

Mr.  Wattles  :  "  Now,  Mr.  Lenahan  and  gentlemen :  I  have 
tried  to  show  you  that  my  heart  is  in  the  right  place,  that  I  am 
open  to  receive  employes  at  any  time  that  they  have  grievances, 
to  consider  them,  to  give  a  hearing  to  our  men  at  all  times  and  to 
correct  grievances  that  may  exist.  That  is  the  position  I  take. 
When  you  come  to  me  and  ask  me  to  violate  my  word  of  honor, 
and  to  go  back  on  agreements  that  I  have  made  with  men  whom  I 
respect  just  as  highly  as  I  do  you,  you  are  asking  me  something 
that  you  may  cut  my  arm  off  but  you  never  can  get  me  to  grant. 

"  Now,  I  am  not  a  timid  man  either.  I  will  do  exactly  what 
is  just  and  fair;  at  the  same  time  I  will  be  firm  in  what  I  know  is 
right.  These  men,  if  they  quit  the  service  of  this  company  and 
go  out  on  a  strike,  will  have  to  appeal  to  this  community  for  the 
justice  of  their  cause.  If  they  cannot  appeal  to  the  community 
for  the  justice  of  their  cause  and  be  sustained  by  the  great  bulk 
of  our  people,  they  have  lost  before  they  start.  That  is  one 
thing  they  should  think  of,  and  think  of  seriously.  Because,  I 
have  said  before,  and  I  repeat  now,  while  I  am  going  to  be  abso- 
lutely fair  and  just  to  every  union  man  in  the  employ  of  this  com- 
pany and  protect  him  in  his  rights,  and  see  that  he  is  not  discrim- 
inated against  in  any  way,  at  the  same  time  I  am  going  to  be  equally 
fair  to  the  other  side;  and  if  the  union  men  in  our  employ  do  call 
a  strike  under  the  conditions  that  I  know  exist,  and  that  I  am  posi- 
tive that  this  community  will  say  exists  when  they  see  the  evidence 
before  them,  I  say  to  the  union  men,  'If  they  quit  the  employ  of 


48  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

this  company,  there  never  will  be  another  union  man  employed 
by  this  company.'  Now  you  may  think  that  is  idle  talk,  men. 
Nobody  will  regret  a  strike  worse  than  I.  And  don't  think  that 
I  am  sitting  here  with  my  hands  folded  believing  there  is  not  going 
to  be  a  strike.  Every  time  one  of  those  agitators  comes  among 
you,  and  works  you  up  to  this  high  pitch  of  temper  that  I  find  you 
in  when  you  come  here,  looking  at  me  as  if  I  were  your  enemy  when 
I  am  your  best  friend,  every  time  they  commence  upon  you  the 
men  get  beside  themselves,  and  they  are  ready  to  do  anything. 
So  I  have  prepared  this  company  for  a  strike,  and  I  have  men 
employed  waiting  to  take  the  place  of  every  man  who  quits." 

A  Member  of  the  Committee:     "That  is  right." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "And  this  company  will  go  right  along 
and  operate  its  cars;  if  necessary,  under  the  protection  of  the  gov- 
ernment itself. 

"  Don't  think  for  a  moment  now  that  we  are  going  to  consider 
this  lightly.  We  have  not  considered  it  lightly.  We  have  con- 
sidered it  seriously.  We  have  believed  all  the  time  that  you  men — 
I  will  not  say  you  men,  because  I  beUeve  that  you  are  good,  level- 
headed men,  but,  as  Mr.  Lenahan  says,  there  are  a  lot  of  men  there 
who  demand  impossible  things  and  say  to  you,  'You  go  up  and  you 
just  say  we  have  to  have  so  and  so,  or  there  is  going  to  be  a  strike.' 
Now,  that  don't  scare  me.     I  have  been  in  all  kinds  of  situations. " 

Mr.  Lenahan:  "I  did  not  say  that  there  were  hot-headed 
men  in  our  union. " 

Mr.  Wattles:  "You  said  there  were  men  there  whom  it 
was  hard  to  control.  That  you  could  not  keep  them  within  your 
control." 

Mr.  Lenahan  :  "  What  I  said  was  that  what  you  were  offering 
would  not  satisfy  the  men." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "Maybe  it  will  not.  I  would  be  very  sorry 
if  it  did  not.  If  any  of  them  have  any  real  grievance — real,  not 
imaginary — if  any  man  has  been  discharged  wrongfully  by  this 
company,  I  want  him  to  come  to  me  and  show  me,  and  if  I  do 
not  reinstate  him,  then  it  is  time  to  talk  about  calUng  a  strike. 
If  any  man  comes  to  me  and  says,  'I  ought  to  have  more  pay,'  and 
if  he  can  show  me  that  he  ought  to  have  more  pay  and  I  will  not 
grant  it  to  him  when  I  am  able  to,  then  is  the  time  to  talk 
about  the  strike.  I  am  telling  you  men  the  truth  about  this 
thing.  I  am  giving  you  the  honest  facts  as  they  exist.  I  have 
told  you  my  troubles  in  order  that  you  may  see  where  I  stand  on 
this  proposition.  Now,  then,  I  say  this,  and  you  can  take  it  back 
to  your  men:  That  if  anybody  has  a  real  complaint — not  some- 
thing that  happened  when  Mr.  Tucker  was  aUve,  or  something  that 
happened  five  years  ago,  or  something  that  happened  so  long  ago 
that  we  have  forgotten  it — but  if  there  are  real  things  happening 
here  against  you  men  or  any  one  of  you,  bring  it  up  here  and  we 
will  straighten  it  out.     Don't  you  be  alarmed  about  it.     It  will 


THE  FINAL  CONFERENCE  49 

be  straightened  out  fairly,  too.  But  don't  get  led  away  now,  men. 
Don't  get  excited.  Don't  feel  that  you  have  not  good  jobs,  or 
that  you  can  go  and  get  others  next  week,  or  that  if  you  quit  this 
company  you  can  come  back  again  in  a  few  days.  That  is  not 
the  way  the  thing  is  going  to  happen  here.  You  may  think  it  is, 
but  that  is  not  the  way  it  is  going  to  be. 

"  Look  up  the  record  of  street  car  strikes  and  you  will  see  what 
has  happened.  I  will  furnish  you  with  copies  of  the  history  of 
the  strike  led  by  this  very  man  who  is  among  you  here,  but  a  short 
time  ago,  down  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  if  you  want  to  see  it. 
What  was  the  result?  This  man  left  town.  He  had  business  at 
MinneapoUs.  Didn't  make  any  difference  to  him.  He  left  twenty- 
five  of  these  honest  workingmen  in  jail  with  criminal  charges  against 
them  and  under  $5,000  bonds,  and  warrants  out  for  120  more  of 
them.  They  were  in  trouble.  Was  he?  Oh,  no.  He  had  busi- 
ness somewhere  else.  It  is  your  trouble.  It  is  not  his.  It  is 
you — ^you  men  who  are  going  to  suffer — and  your  famiUes — if 
you  bring  this  strike  on  yourselves. 

"  There  may  be  times  that  men  ought  to  strike,  when  their 
employers  are  not  fair — when  they  don't  talk  fair  or  will  not  do 
what  is  right.  But  that  is  not  the  case  here.  Don't  think  that 
you  can  make  a  case  out  of  imaginary  things,  because  the  facts 
are  going  to  come  up.  If  a  street  car  strike  is  called  here,  the 
pubUc  will  know  why  it  is  called  and  what  the  reason  for  its  being 
called  is,  and  all  about  it  before  we  get  through  with  it;  and  when 
they  hear  the  evidence  and  see  it,  they  are  going  to  judge  whether 
it  is  just  and  fair  or  not;  and  the  judgment  is  rendered  before  you 
start  in  case  the  facts  are  against  you. " 

Mr.  Lenahan:  "Gentlemen,  those  are  the  facts,  that  Mr. 
Wattles  has  prepared  for  a  strike,  and  there  is  nothing  that  we  can 
concede  or  agree  upon;  and  his  statement  to  you  is  frank  that  he 
has  prepared  for  a  strike,  and  that  he  is  not  willing  to  treat  with 
us  except  as  individuals.  You  are  only  treated  as  individuals 
here  today,  and  the  instructions  received  from  your  association 
is  that  you  were  to  come  here  representing  the  employes  of  the 
company,  or  the  union  men,  and  get  an  agreement,  or  to  take  back 
to  the  organization  something  substantial  and  satisfactory.  Mr. 
Wattles  denies  you  that  right  and  treats  you  as  individuals.  On 
these  grounds  we  have  nothing  to  do  but  retire." 

Mr.  Poncelow:  "Well,  I  think  the  conference  is  over.  I 
don't  see  that  there  is  anything  we  can  do." 

Mr.  Wattles:  "If  any  of  you  men  have  anything  else  to 
say,  let  us  hear  it  now,  because  it  is  the  time. " 

Mr.  Lenahan:     "Your  position  is  very  clear." 

The  committee  thereupon  retired  from  Mr.  Wattles*  office  and 
the  meeting  was  ended. 


50  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

State  of  Nebraska,  County  of  Douglas,  ss. 

This  is  to  certify  that  on  Wednesday,  the  Fifteenth  day  of 
September,  1909,  I  attended  a  meeting  held  at  the  office  of  Mr. 
Gurdon  W.  Wattles,  in  the  United  States  National  Bank  building, 
in  the  city  of  Omaha,  Douglas  county,  state  of  Nebraska,  which 
said  meeting  was  commenced  at  the  hour  of  two  in  the  afternoon 
of  said  day,  and  was  a  meeting  between  a  committee  of  seven  of 
the  union  employes  of  the  Omaha  &  Council  Bluffs  Street  Railway 
Company,  whose  names  are  set  forth  on  page  one  of  this  transcript, 
and  Mr.  Gurdon  W.  Wattles,  the  president  of  said  company;  this 
is  to  further  certify  that  I  reported  in  shorthand  writing  all  of  the 
statements  made  at  said  meeting  by  any  and  all  of  the  persons 
present  at  and  participating  in  said  meeting;  I  further  certify  that 
the  foregoing  transcript,  containing  pages  numbered  one  (1)  to 
fifty-two  (52) ,  both  inclusive,  is  a  full,  true  and  complete  transcript 
of  all  shorthand  notes  taken  by  me  at  said  meeting  and  contains 
each  and  all  of  the  statements  made  by  the  persons  participating 
in  said  meeting. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  signed  my  name,  at 
Omaha,  Nebraska,  this  17th  day  of  September,  A.  D.,  1909. 

Frank  J.  Sutcliffe,  Shorthand  Reporter. 


Chapter  V. 


ENDORSEMENT  OF  COMPANY'S  POSITION 

The  next  day  after  this  meeting,  the  president  of  the  company 
was  waited  upon  by  Mr.  T.  W,  McCullough,  Managing  Editor 
of  the  Omaha  Bee  and  a  leader  in  union  matters  in  the  city  of 
Omaha,  who  requested  an  interview  between  Mr.  C.  O.  Pratt, 
of  the  Amalgamated  Association  of  Street  and  Electric  Railway 
Employes  of  America,  and  the  President  of  the  company.  To 
this  request,  the  following  reply  by  letter  was  made: 

"Omaha,  Nebraska,  Sept.  16,  1909. 
"T.  W.  McCullough,  Esq., 

Care  Omaha  Bee, 
Omaha,  Neb. 
My  Dear  Mr.  McCullough: 

"After  a  careful  consideration  of  your  request  that  I  should 
meet  Mr.  Pratt,  an  officer  of  the  National  Association  of  Street 
Railway  Employes,  I  cannot  see  that  such  a  meeting  would  accom- 
plish any  practical  results.  The  position  of  our  company  has  always 
been  that  its  officers  will  at  all  times  confer  with  its  employes, 
either  individually  or  by  committees,  and  hear  any  complaints 
they  may  have  to  make  and  correct  any  wrongs,  so  far  as  lies 
within  their  power,  but  that  they  will  not  negotiate  with  men  not 
in  their  employ.  If  I  am  correctly  informed,  the  purpose  of  Mr. 
Pratt  is  to  secure  the  execution  of  a  written  contract  between  the 
Street  Railway  Company  and  the  union.  This  would  be  impossible 
for  the  following  reasons: 

"  When  the  union  was  first  organized,  the  men  who  joined  it 
were  suspended  by  the  company.  At  a  conference  with  these 
men  the  national  organizer,  Mr.  Wilson,  asked  for  a  hearing,  which 
was  granted.  He  then  stated  to  the  officers  and  directors  in  the 
presence  of  the  men,  that  in  many  cities  where  unions  existed 
among  street  railway  employes,  a  part  of  the  men  belonged  to  the 
union  and  others  did  not,  that  they  always  worked  in  perfect 
harmony  together,  that  it  was  not  the  purpose  of  street  railway 
unions  to  secure  a  closed  shop,  and  that  if  a  union  should  be 
organized  in  Omaha,  no  contract  would  be  asked  or  required  either 

(61) 


52  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

at  that  time  or  in  the  future,  but  that  the  purpose  of  organizing 
a  union  here  was  to  promote  the  general  welfare  of  those  who 
joined  it. 

"With  this  understanding  and  agreement  with  Mr.  Wilson,  the 
opposition  to  the  organization  of  the  union  was  withdrawn,  and 
the  men  who  had  been  suspended  were  reinstated.  While  the 
union  was  being  organized,  the  officers  of  the  Street  Railway 
Company  were  waited  on  by  a  large  number  of  the  old  employes, 
and  we  were  asked  to  state  to  these  men  whether  or  not  the  com- 
pany would  at  any  time  enter  into  any  contract  with  the  union 
whereby  they,  who  did  not  want  to  join  the  union,  would  in  any 
way  be  liable  to  lose  their  rights  or  positions.  They  were  positively 
assured  that  no  contract  would  be  entered  into  by  this  company 
with  the  union,  and  that  every  employe  of  the  company,  regardless 
of  whether  he  belonged  to  the  union  or  not,  would  receive  the  same 
treatment  and  would  be  dealt  with  in  the  same  manner  as  every 
other  employe. 

"  Two  years  ago  last  March,  when  a  strike  was  threatened, 
because  of  the  refusal  of  the  officers  of  the  company  to  violate 
their  solemn  agreement  with  their  non-union  men  and  sign  an 
agreement  with  the  union,  I  was  requested  to  appear  before  the 
then  president  of  the  Central  Labor  Union,  Mr.  Charles  McDonald, 
and  the  two  last  ex-presidents  of  that  body,  Mr.  Louis  V.  Guye 
and  Mr.  John  Polian,  and  state  the  position  of  the  company  and 
submit  evidence,  that  they  might  judge  for  the  union  men  as  to 
whether  or  not  a  strike  was  justified.  One  of  the  findings  of  this 
committee  reads  as  follows: 

"  '  In  the  matter  of  a  written  contract  demanded  on  the  part 
of  your  organization,  we  find  that  inasmuch  as  an  agreement  was 
entered  into  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of  your  local  union,  to 
the  effect  that  the  company  would  not  be  required  to  sign  a  con- 
tract, we  therefore  recommend  that  said  contract  be  withdrawn.' 

"The  decision  of  our  company  on  this  matter  is  final.  We 
do  not  expect  to  violate  this  understanding  we  had  with  the  union 
and  non-union  men,  nor  will  we  permit  the  union  to  violate  it. 

"  Regarding  the  matter  contained  in  the  contract  submitted 
to  us,  we  have  freely  and  frankly  discussed  these  and  other  matters 
with  our  employes.  The  principal  provision,  for  an  increase  of 
pay,  we  have  dechned  to  consider  at  this  time  and  have  explained 
the  reasons  therefor.  An  occupation  tax  was  recently  levied 
against  this  company,  which  will  require  the  payment  to  the  City 
of  Omaha  of  about  $60,000  per  annum.  Last  year,  after  paying 
the  expenses  of  operation,  taxes,  interest  and  reasonable  dividends, 
and  setting  aside  only  a  moderate  sum  for  replacement,  we  had 
left  about  $22,000.  It  is  as  important  to  our  employes  as  it  is 
to  our  stockholders  that  we  maintain  the  high  financial  credit  of 
our  company.  To  increase  its  expenses  beyond  its  abiUty  to  pay 
would  bring  disaster  to  all. 


ENDORSEMENT  OF  COMPANY'S  POSITION  53 

"  But  there  is  a  further  reason  why  we  should  not  increase 
our  wage  scale  at  present.  Our  company  has  at  all  times  paid 
the  highest  wages  of  any  company  in  any  city  of  our  importance, 
where  similar  conditions  prevail  to  those  in  Omaha.  At  present 
our  scale  of  wages  is  higher  than  such  cities  as  Boston,  Washing- 
ton, Philadelphia,  New  Orleans,  Minneapolis,  St.  I  ouis,  Milwaukee, 
Louisville,  Cincinnati,  Kansas  City,  Baltimore,  Toledo,  Columbus, 
Sioux  City,  St.  Joseph  and  Des  Moines.  In  but  one  city  in  the 
United  States  in  the  class  of  Omaha  are  the  wages  to  street  rail- 
way employes  higher  than  here.  That  city  is  Denver,  where  all 
wages  are  much  higher  and  living  expenses  accordingly.  It  is 
the  policy  of  our  company,  however,  to  at  all  times  pay  its  em- 
ployes as  good  or  better  wages  than  similar  employes  receive  in 
any  city  in  our  class,  and  this  will  be  our  future  policy. 

"  Three  increases  in  our  scale  of  wages  have  been  made  during 
the  past  six  years,  and  other  increases  will  be  made  at  the  earliest 
date  prudent  to  do  so.  In  past  adjustments  of  the  wage  scale 
our  employes  have  been  consulted,  and  we  have  endeavored  to 
make  this  adjustment  in  accordance  with  the  value  of  the  service 
rendered  and  in  a  manner  so  as  to  retain  in  our  employ  all  of  our 
older  and  more  experienced  men.  In  future  adjustments  we  shall 
consult  with  the  men,  and  endeavor  to  adopt  such  a  scale  as  will 
be  most  satisfactory  to  our  employes,  and  which  will  produce  the 
best  service  to  the  public. 

"Regarding  the  provision  to  insure  fair  treatment  to  union 
employes,  I  will  say  that  the  policy  of  our  company  toward  the 
union  has  been  so  often  announced  and  published,  that  there 
should  be  no  misunderstanding  regarding  it.  We  have  stated 
that  so  long  as  union  men  remain  in  our  employ,  they  shall  be 
treated  in  every  way  as  fairly  and  justly  as  non-union  employes, 
and  there  shall  be  no  discrimination  made  by  the  officers  of  the 
company  for  or  against  them.  If,  at  any  time,  any  such  discrimi- 
nation can  be  shown  to  exist,  it  will  be  immediately  corrected.  We 
have  always  reserved  the  right  of  the  officers  and  superintendents 
to  say  to  our  men  that  we  prefer  that  they  do  not  join  the  union, 
but  no  pledge  is  required  from  any  man  entering  our  employ  on  this 
subject.  We  cannot  permit  union  men  to  annoy  or  harass  non- 
union men.  We  must  at  all  times  maintain  discipline  and  good 
service  on  the  part  of  all  employes,  to  the  end  that  the  public  shall 
continue  to  receive  the  best  service  possible. 

"  Regarding  the  schedule  of  runs,  we  have  at  all  times  stated 
to  the  men  that  it  was  the  purpose  of  the  company  to  so  adjust 
the  runs  as  to  be  most  satisfactory  to  them,  keeping  in  mind  the 
fact  that  the  service  must  not  be  impaired,  and  that  we  have  to 
provide  this  service  during  about  twenty  hours  of  each  day.  We 
have  repeatedly  stated  that  if  any  suggested  changes  in  runs  could 
be  made,  that  would  not  impair  the  service  and  would  be  more 


54  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

convenient  to  our  employes,  we  would  be  glad  to  receive  such 
suggestions. 

"  It  is  the  purpose  of  the  company  at  all  times  to  provide  each 
barn  with  a  sufficient  number  of  extra  men,  to  the  end  that  regular 
men  may  lay  off  on  frequent  occasions,  if  they  so  desire.  To  be 
fair,  however,  with  the  extra  men  employed,  we  cannot  maintain 
such  a  large  number  as  will  not  provide  a  reasonable  wage  for  all 
who  are  employed. 

"I  have  stated  at  length  in  this  letter  the  position  of  our 
company  on  all  of  the  material  questions  that  are  embodied  in  the 
contract  recently  submitted  to  us  by  our  union  employes.  We  do 
not  desire  any  disruption  of  the  pleasant  relations  that  have 
existed  between  the  officers  of  our  company  and  the  men  in  its 
employ.  We  shall,  however,  pursue  the  policies  herein  outUned, 
beheving  that  they  are  for  the  best  interest  of  all  the  men  in  our 
employ. 

"  You  are  at  liberty  to  use  this  letter  in  any  manner  you  see 
fit  to  promote  the  general  welfare  of  our  employes. 

Very  respectfully, 

(Signed)  G.  W.  Wattles,  Pres." 

In  delivering  this  letter,  the  President  of  the  company  stated 
verbally  that  he  would  meet  Mr.  Pratt,  if  he  so  desired,  before  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Business  Men's  Association  of  Omaha, 
at  their  meeting  at  one  o'clock  P.  M.  the  following  day.  Mr.  Pratt 
appeared  at  this  meeting  and  stated  the  complaints  of  the  union 
men  against  the  Street  Railway  Company,  and  presented  at  that 
time  a  modified  contract  which  he  stated  would  be  satisfactory 
to  the  union  employes  of  the  company.  On  being  questioned  by 
a  member  of  the  Business  Men's  Association  as  to  who  was  to 
execute  this  contract  in  behalf  of  the  street  railway  employes,  he 
admitted  that  it  was  to  be  executed  by  the  officers  of  the  union. 

The  President  of  thB  company  thereupon  agreed  to  issue  a 
statement  to  all  the  employes  of  the  Street  Railway  Company,  and 
place  a  copy  in  the  hands  of  each  employe,  which  would  cover  the 
principal  points  raised  in  the  contract,  but  this  was  not  satisfactory 
to  Mr.  Pratt.  At  a  later  date  the  business  men  present  at  this 
meeting  published  the  following  statement  as  to  what  occurred 
at  this  meeting,  as  follows: 

"  The  undersigned,  having  been  present  at  the  meeting  of  the 
executive  committee  of  the  Business  Men's  Association  on  Septem- 
ber 17,  take  this  means  of  giving  to  the  public  an  accurate  state- 
ment of  what  occurred  before  the  executive  committee  relative 
to  the  impending  street  railway  strike. 


ENDORSEMENT  OF  COMPANY'S  POSITION  55 

"Mr.  Wattles,  representing  the  Street  Railway  Company, 
and  Mr.  Pratt,  representing  the  union,  appeared  before  the  com- 
mittee. Mr.  Pratt  informed  the  committee  that  what  he  was  de- 
manding of  the  Street  Railway  Company  was  a  document  in  the 
form  of  a  contract,  to  be  signed  by  the  ofl&cials  of  the  Street  Rail- 
way Company  on  the  one  side  and  certain  officers  of  the  union 
on  the  other.  He  produced  a  proposed  draft  of  such  contract, 
which  he  said  had  never  been  presented  to  Mr.  Wattles  or  to  the 
Street  Railway  Company.  This  was  the  same  form  of  contract 
which  was  subsequently  published  in  the  papers  of  Sunday  morn- 
ing, September  19.  Mr.  Pratt  stated  that  an  increase  in  wages 
was  asked,  but  that,  if  the  figures  named  in  the  proposed  contract 
were  not  fair,  he  was  disposed  to  negotiate  further  on  that  subject. 
He  also  stated  that  they  wanted  a  contract  covering  the  question 
of  schedules  of  runs  and  hours  of  work. 

"Mr.  Wattles  then  informed  the  committee  that  when  the 
union  was  organized  here  about  seven  years  ago,  those  who  joined 
it  were  at  first  suspended  from  their  employment  but  were  after- 
wards reinstated  upon  the  express  promise  that  the  union  would 
not,  at  any  time,  demand  of  the  company  any  contract  with  the 
union,  as  such,  or  other  contract  or  agreement  making  a  distinction 
between  union  and  non-union  men;  that  at  the  same  time  the  com- 
pany promised  its  non-union  employes  that  it  would  not,  at  any 
time,  make  any  contract  with  the  union,  the  effect  of  which  would 
be  to-discriminate  in  its  manner  of  treating  with  its  union  employes 
and  its  treatment  of  its  non-union  men. 

"Mr.  Wattles  said  that  the  question  whether  the  company 
should  keep  its  word  with  its  non-union  employes  was  not  a  matter 
that  he  could  submit  to  arbitration.  He  further  stated  that  within 
the  past  six  years  the  company  had  made  three  voluntary  advances 
in  wages,  and  is  now  paying  its  conductors  and  motormen  the  high- 
est wages  paid  in  any  city  of  the  class  of  Omaha  where  conditions 
are  at  all  similar,  and  that  it  had  paid,  during  the  periods  of  depres- 
sion, as  high  wages  as  any  other  city  under  similar  conditions, 
notwithstanding  that  for  many  years  the  stockholders  received  no 
dividends  whatever.  He  said  that  the  present  condition  of  busi- 
ness and  income  would  not  permit  an  increase  of  wages  at  the 
present  time  and  enable  the  company  to  make  necessary  replace- 
ments, preserve  its  credit  and  keep  the  service  up  to  the  required 
standard;  but  that  it  is  the  purpose  and  poUcy  of  the  company 
to  make  further  advances  in  wages  whenever  conditions  of  business 
will  warrant  the  same.  He  then  offered  to  give  to  every  emplo3'^e, 
whether  union  or  non-union  man,  a  written  statement  over  his 
signature  as  president  of  the  company,  containing  the  following 
specific  promises  and  pledges: 

'"1.  Whenever  the  condition  of  business  will  warrant  an 
increase  of  pay,  such  increase  will  be  made. 


66  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

"  '2.  That  in  their  treatment  of  employes  there  shall  be  no 
discrimination  whatever  between  union  and  non-union  men. 

"  *3.  That  every  specific  complaint  respecting  treatment, 
schedule  of  runs,  hours  of  work  or  other  matters  relating  to  the 
working  conditions,  which  shall  be  brought  to  the  attention  of 
the  company  shall  receive  consideration,  and  the  cause  of  complaint 
shall  be  removed,  if  possible,  with  due  regard  to  the  efficiency  of 
the  service.' 

"  Mr.  Pratt  then  said  that,  while  he  and  Mr.  Wattles  were  not 
far  apart  on  matters  of  substance,  what  he  wanted  was  a  contract 
rather  than  a  statement  from  the  company.  His  proposed  con- 
tract was  then  examined  in  detail,  and  he  stated  that  if  it  were 
entered  into  it  would  be  signed  by  certain  officers  of  the  union. 

"  He  was  then  asked  to  point  out  any  promise  or  agreement 
contained  in  the  proposed  contract  to  be  performed  by  any  one 
except  the  Street  Railway  Company,  and  he  admitted  that  there 
were  no  such  promises  in  the  proposed  agreement. 

"The  controversy  thus  narrowed  down,  for  immediate  pur- 
poses, to  whether,  all  of  the  promises  and  agreements  being  on  one 
side,  the  document  to  be  signed  should  be  in  the  form  of  a  written 
declaration  by  the  company  to  all  of  its  employes,  or  in  the  form 
of  a  contract  with  the  union,  thereby  ignoring  the  non-union  work- 
man. As  the  making  of  such  a  contract  would  be  a  breach  of 
faith  on  the  part  of  the  Street  Railway  Company  toward  its  non- 
union employes,  and  as  the  demand  for  it  was  a  breach  of  the  prom- 
ises of  the  union  made  at  the  time  the  union  employes  were  rein- 
stated in  their  employment,  it  was  unanimously  resolved  by  the 
executive  committee  of  the  Business  Men's  Association  that  the 
association  approve  the  attitude  of  the  Street  Railway  Company, 
and  would  give  that  company  its  support  in  the  event  that  a  strike 
should  be  precipitated.  The  action  of  the  committee  was  after- 
wards unanimously  endorsed  by  a  general  meeting  of  the  associa- 
tion on  Sunday  afternoon. 

"  Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  executive  committee  being  made 
known,  Mr.  Pratt  left  the  meeting,  saying  that  he  would  read  to 
the  men  then  assembled  at  the  Labor  Temple,  without  comment, 
the  letter  which  Mr.  Wattles  had  on  the  day  previous  addressed 
to  a  certain  prominent  union  labor  man  of  this  city,  which  con- 
tained, in  substance,  the  same  assurances  which  Mr.  Wattles  had 
made  to  the  executive  committee. 

"  Signed  this  20th  day  of  September,  1909. 

Samuel  Rees, 
President  Business  Men's  Association. 

D.  J.  O'Bbibn,  T.  J.  MAHONEy,  Charles  C.  Bblden, 
Fkank  W.  Judson,  Oeorgb  H.  Lee.  G.  W.  Clabacgh, 

E.  J.  McVann,  g.  W.  Johnston,  Frank  B.  Johnson, 
A.  J.  ViBBMNO,  David  Cole,  Frank  Colpetzer, 
W.  S.  Jardinb,  Oborgb  H.  Kelly,  W.  C.  Bullard, 

E.  E.  Bkucb,  John  H  Hartb,  J.  B.  Rahm. 

Thomas  a.  Fry,  Andrew  Murphy,  Thomas  C.  Byrne, 

J.  A.  SUNDBBLAND.  A.  C.  SMITH,  F.  A.  NABH," 

W.  S.  Wrioht, 


Chapter  VI. 


STAMPEDING  THE  MEN 

Mr.  Pratt  left  this  meeting  and  went  directly  to  the  meeting 
of  the  union  employes,  which  was  then  in  session  at  Labor  Temple. 
What  occurred  at  that  meeting  before, and  after  Mr.  Pratt's  arrival, 
is  told  in  the  following  affidavit  by  a  witness  who  was  present: 


STATE  OF  NEBRASKA,  \ 

r  SS 

County  of  Douglas.      j 

The  undersigned,  G.  W.  Adams,  being  first  duly  sworn, 
deposes  and  says  as  follows : 

"  My  name  is  G.  W.  Adams.  I  live  at  1423  Avenue  D,  Council 
Bluffs.  I  have  been  in  the  employ  of  the  Omaha  &  Council  Bluffs 
Street  Railway  Company  for  three  and  a  half  years  as  motorman  on 
the  Council  Bluffs  Division.  I  do  not  belong  to  the  Street  Railway 
union  and  never  have  joined  it.  My  regular  conductor,  E.  E. 
Moore,  invited  me  to  go  to  the  union  meeting  to  be  held  at  Labor 
Temple  on  Friday  afternoon,  September  17,  1909.  He  said  it 
was  to  be  an  open  meeting  to  which  everybody  was  invited.  I 
went  to  the  hall  alone  and  found  him  there  when  I  got  there,  which 
was  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  I  went  upstairs  and 
met  him  and  he  came  and  shook  hands  with  me.  I  went  in  the 
hall  with  him.  On  the  platform  were  Mr.  Ben  Commons  and  two 
other  men.  I  knew  it  was  Mr.  Commons  because  he  gave  his  name 
when  he  started  to  speak  to  the  men.  There  were  about  one 
hundred  and  sixty  men  in  the  hall  at  the  time. 

"First  there  was  a  speech  by  a  small  man  with  a  light  mus- 
tache; I  did  not  hear  his  name,  but  I  believe  he  was  one  of  the 
union  committeemen.  Then  Mr.  Commons  spoke.  He  said:  'We 
cannot  do  very  much,  because  we  have  got  to  wait  for  Mr.  Pratt, 
who  is  having  a  talk  with  Mr.  Wattles  at  this  time.'  He  then 
talked  for  a  short  time  about  street  railroad  matters,  and  then  he 
said  that  they  had  some  secret  work  to  do  and  all  non-union  men 
must  leave  the  hall,  if  there  were  any  in  there.     Five  or  six  men 

(67) 


58  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

got  up  and  went  out.  Then  after  they  went  out  Mr.  Commons 
sent  a  committee  around  to  look  at  every  man's  card,  to  know  that 
there  was  no  non-union  man  left  in  the  hall.  My  conductor  came 
over  to  me  and  said,  'Now  you  go  and  make  out  your  appUcation 
to  join  the  union,  and  you  can  stay  in  and  hear  all  the  secret 
work.'  I  said  to  him,  'What  do  you  call  this,  a  forced  game?' 
He  said,  'Why,  no,'  and  I  said,  'It  looks  like  it.'  And  I  said,  'I 
would  not  have  come  here  if  I  had  known  it  was  to  be  this  kind  of 
a  meeting.'  I  did  not  want  to  go  out  and  let  them  hoot  at  me. 
He  took  a  hold  of  my  shoulder  and  pinched  it  and  said,  'You 
are  all  right  anyway,  say  nothing  about  it,'  and  went  over  and  sat 
down  in  a  row  over  by  the  platform.  I  think  he  was  one  of  the 
committee  on  the  Council  Blufifs  side. 

"  They  then  shut  all  the  doors  and  put  a  man  in  the  ante-room, 
and  then  one  man  in  the  lodge  room  at  the  door.  When  the  com- 
mittee came  around  to  look  at  the  cards  Mr.  Moore  was  talking  to 
me,  and  they  passed  by  me  and  never  asked  me  for  any  card. 
Then  Ben  Commons  gave  the  lodge  signs.  *  *  *  He  explained 
the  union  grip.  *  *  *  Then  he  commenced  to  talk  about  the 
street  car  strike,  and  he  wanted  to  know  if  there  was  anyone  in 
the  hall  that  would  put  a  motion  before  the  house,  and  one  man 
got  up  and  said,  'I  make  a  motion  that  the  company  pay  once  a 
week  in  place  of  twice  a  month.'  Mr.  Commons  said,  'We  don't 
want  anything  to  do  with  that  kind  of  a  motion.'  Mr.  Commons 
then  said  to  the  men,  'When  Mr.  Pratt  comes  back  from  waiting  on 
Mr.  Wattles,  if  he  does  not  get  any  satisfaction,  the  question  is, 
will  you  call  a  strike  or  not?'  He  said  that  Mr.  Wattles  was  one 
of  the  biggest  Uars  on  earth;  that  he  had  never  kept  any  of  his 
words  with  the  men,  or  anything  that  he  had  told  them  when  they 
went  to  him  with  grievances.  He  said  that  Mr.  Wattles  positively 
refused  to  talk  to  him  at  all,  and  that  before  they  got  through  he 
would  have  to  talk  to  him. 

"  He  then  commenced  to  tell  the  men  what  strikes  he  had  won. 
I  forget  the  names  of  the  towns,  but  there  was  one  town  that  he 
claimed  there  were  fifty-four  strikers,  and  they  called  out  six 
hundred  militia  and  they  won  the  strike.  Then  he  told  about  a 
town  where  he  had  been  put  in  jail  for  ninety  days,  and  how  his 
wife  had  fetched  him  good  grub  and  good  stuff  to  drink  while  he 
was  in  jail,  and  he  was  ready  to  go  in  jail  again  if  necessary.  Then 
he  said  those  that  were  in  favor  of  a  strike  should  stand  up,  and 


STAMPEDING  THE  MEN  5§ 

about  everyone  in  the  house  stood  up,  and  I  stood  up  with  them 
too.  I  thought  if  I  did  not  they  might  see  me  sitting  there  and 
somebody  might  knock  my  head  off.  Mr.  Commons  said  if  Mr. 
Wattles  did  not  come  to  the  agreement  they  would  go  out  on 
Saturday  night  at  twelve  o'clock.  Then  he  said,  'Who  is  in  favor 
of  it?'  and  pulled  his  hat  out  and  swung  it  around,  and  that  put 
everyone  in  the  house  hollering  'Strike,  strike,  strike.'  The  men 
acted  like  they  were  very  much  excited.  Commons  then  said, 
'Now,  boys,  I  will  tell  you,  if  we  go  out  at  twelve  o'clock  Saturday 
night,  you  will  all  meet  here  at  twelve  o'clock,  and  we  will  appoint 
our  committees  and  pickets  to  go  to  each  car  bam,'  and  he  said, 
'You  have  got  to  be  brave  and  put  on  a  brave  face.'  He  then  told 
the  men  the  means  they  were  to  use  in  preventing  the  cars  from 
being  operated,  and  how  to  treat  those  who  attempted  to  operate 
them.  Every  time  he  would  make  a  statement  of  that  kind  he 
would  take  his  hat  off  and  wave  it  and  get  them  very  much  excited. 

"  It  was  getting  late.  I  went  to  work  at  5:18  and  I  had  not 
had  my  supper,  and  it  was  after  four  o'clock,  but  I  was  afraid  to 
get  up  and  give  any  sign  to  get  out  for  fear  they  would  not  leave 
'a  grease  spot  of  me,'  as  I  had  had  experience  with  people  as  wild 
as  they  were  then.  Before  I  left  the  hall,  Mr.  Pratt  came  back, 
and  he  had  a  letter  which  Mr.  Wattles  had  written  to  some  man  in 
Omaha  about  what  he  would  do.  Then  Pratt  said  that  Mr.  Wat- 
tles had  gone  back  on  everything  he  had  agreed  to  do;  that  he 
would  not  sign  anything  at  all;  that  he  would  cut  his  right  hand 
off  first.  He  then  said  something  about  a  strike.  Ben  Commons 
then  said,  'Strike  right  away,  the  quicker  the  better,  and  give  them 
no  notice.' 

"  Then  Ben  Commons  said  to  the  men  again  that  all  who  were 
in  favor  of  a  strike  should  stand  up.  Nearly  every  man  in  the 
house  stood  up.  He  then  pounded  the  table  and  told  them  that 
stood  up  to  sit  down.  Then  he  said  for  those  that  were  not  in 
favor  of  a  strike  to  stand  up,  and  no  one  stood  up.  They  did  not 
take  any  ballot  on  the  question.  Then  Mr.  Pratt  made  a  speech 
in  which  he  called  Mr.  Wattles  a  liar,  and  urged  the  men  to  stand 
firm  and  told  them  they  would  win  the  strike  and  no  question 
about  it.  After  he  had  made  his  speech  they  adjourned  the  meet- 
ing till  the  evening  meeting. 

"Then  I  went  on  my  run  and  had  my  same  conductor,  Mr. 
Moore.    Later  Mr.  Moore  came  to  me  at  Manawa  and  said  to  me, 


60  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

'What  are  you  going  to  do,  are  you  going  out  with  us?'  I  said, 
'I  am  not.'  He  said,  'You  will  be  scabbing  if  you  don't.'  I  said, 
'I  am  not  going  out.'  He  said,  'I  thought  all  the  time  you  would 
go  out.'  I  said,  'I  had  you  guessing,  didn't  I?'  Then  that  night 
at  the  12:40  trip  out  of  Omaha,  the  union  men  that  belonged  in 
Council  Bluffs  caught  my  car  over  to  the  Bluffs  going  home  from 
the  meeting.  I  could  notice  through  the  back  of  the  car  that 
Poncelow  was  a  kind  of  whispering  to  my  conductor;  I  could  see 
through  the  car.  Then  after  they  got  home  and  off  the  car,  my 
conductor  came  to  me  and  said,  'Now  this  is  between  you  and  me, 
I  want  you  to  keep  quiet,  and  I  will  tell  you  something.  They  are 
going  out  in  the  morning  at  four  o'clock,  in  place  of  Saturday 
night.' 

(Signed)     G.  W.  Adams." 
Subscribed  in  my  presence  and  sworn  to  before  me  by  the 
said  G.  W.  Adams  this  14th  day  of  October,  A.  D.,  1909. 
[Seal]  (Signed)     J.   T.   Hillquist, 

Notary  Public. 

Another  meeting  of  the  union  men,  to  accommodate  those  who 
were  not  present  at  the  afternoon  meeting,  was  held  at  eight  o'clock 
on  the  same  evening.  From  reliable  information  obtained  from 
those  who  were  present,  but  who  are  not  at  liberty  to  disclose  their 
identity,  on  account  of  their  oath  to  the  union,  it  was  learned  that 
about  the  same  action  was  taken  at  the  evening  meeting  as  at  the 
afternoon  meeting,  and  that  the  vote  on  the  strike  was  not  by 
ballot,  as  is  provided  by  the  by-laws  of  the  Amalgamated  Associa- 
tion of  Street  &  Electric  Railway  Employes  of  America,  which 
read  as  follows: 

"  Section  102.  When  any  difficulty  arises  between  the  mem- 
bers of  any  local  division  of  this  association  and  their  employers, 
regarding  wages,  hours  of  labor,  or  any  other  question  that  may 
result  in  a  strike  or  a  lockout,  the  dispute  shall  first  be  taken  up 
by  the  executive  board  of  the  local  division,  or  by  a  committee 
appointed  by  the  division  for  that  purpose,  and  they  shall  make  a 
thorough  investigation,  and  seek,  through  conferences  with  the 
company,  to  get  the  matter  satisfactorily  adjusted.  The  com- 
mittee shall,  after  having  finished  the  work  of  negotiation  with  the 
company,  submit  a  full  report  to  a  meeting  of  the  division. 

"Section  103.  If,  by  compHance  with  Section  102,  the  com- 
mittee has  been  unable  to  secure  settlement  that  is  satisfactory 
to  the  local  division,  and  the  question  is  one  over  which  the  local 
division  believes  a  strike  should  be  ordered,  such  question  shall 


STAMPEDING  THE  MEN  61 

be  submitted  to  a  secret  ballot  of  the  entire  membership.  If 
necessary  to  reach  the  entire  membership  of  the  division,  it  shall 
be  submitted  by  a  referendum  vote  under  the  Australian  ballot 
system.  If  two-thirds  (§)  of  the  membership  thus  voting  decide 
to  favor  the  proposition,  they  shall  at  once  notify  the  International 
President.  The  International  President,  upon  receipt  of  such 
notice,  shall  proceed  to  the  scene  of  dispute  in  person,  or  by  deputy, 
and,  in  conjunction  with  the  committee  of  the  local  division,  shall 
make  a  careful  investigation  and  attempt  to  settle  the  matter  in 
dispute.  In  case  he  fails  to  make  a  settlement,  he  shall  communi- 
cate with  the  General  Executive  Board,  either  by  writing  or  tele- 
graphing, and  get  a  majority  of  the  board's  consent  before  endors- 
ing any  strike,  and  in  no  case  will  he  endorse  a  strike  without  first 
having  offered  arbitration.  If  the  company  is  willing  to  submit 
the  dispute  to  arbitration,  he  shall  make  arrangements  and  submit 
the  case  to  arbitration  and  thus  adjust  it. 

"  Section  104.  In  case  the  international  representative,  who 
is  handling  questions  in  a  dispute  between  a  local  division  and  the 
employing  company  has  propositions  from  the  company  that  he 
believes  should  be  considered  by  the  entire  membership,  he  shall 
acquaint  the  membership  with  such  propositions,  either  through 
a  circular  carefully  outlining  and  explaining  the  propositions,  or 
through  a  general  meeting  of  the  division.  After  having  acquainted 
the  membership  with  the  proposition  or  propositions,  he  shall  then 
have  a  referendum  vote  of  the  entire  membership  of  the  local 
division  taken  upon  the  same.  If  the  local  division  has  by-laws 
providing  for  a  referendum  vote  of  its  membership,  he  shall  follow 
such  provisions.  If  the  local  division  has  no  by-laws  governing 
such  vote,  he  shall  then  make  arrangements  and  have  such  vote 
taken  in  the  best  and  easiest  manner  possible — either  by  appoint- 
ing a  special  election  day  and  having  the  membership  come  to  the 
hall  or  headquarters  of  the  division  and  cast  their  vote,  or  through 
a  committee  who  shall  take  the  vote  of  the  members  at  the  different 
stations  or  barns.  Every  member  shall  be  given  an  opportunity 
to  vote  upon  such  proposition,  and  the  majority  of  the  votes  cast 
by  the  membership  of  the  local  division  shall  decide  the  question. 

"Section  105.  The  General  Executive  Board  shall  have  the 
power  to  sustain  or  refuse  to  sustain  the  action  of  the  local  divi- 
sion, providing  the  local  division  has  complied  with  this  consti- 
tution. The  International  President  shall  notify  the  local  division 
of  the  decision  without  delay.  * 

"Section  106.  In  case  the  General  Executive  Board  refuses 
to  sustain  the  local  division  in  its  application  for  support  the 
local  division  can  appeal  for  a  vote  of  all  local  divisions  in  request 
for  support,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  International  President 
to  submit  the  appeal  ahd  facts  in  the  case  to  a  vote  of  the  general 
membership,  which  vote  shall  be  returned  to  the  International 
President  within  thirty  (30)  days,  and  if  the  appeal  is  sustained 


62  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

the  local  division  making  the  same  shall  be  notified  and  shall  be 
entitled  to  all  support  in  accordance  with  the  constitution. 

"Section  107.  Local  divisions  going  on  strike  without  the 
consent  of  the  General  Executive  Board  shall  forfeit  all  rights  to 
assistance  and  be  subject  to  expulsion  from  the  Association." 

The  evidence  is  therefore  conclusive  that  the  strike  of  the 
union  employes  of  the  Omaha  &  Council  Bluffs  Street  Railway 
Company  was  never  legally  voted,  in  that  no  secret  ballot  was 
taken;  that  the  men  were  greatly  excited  because  of  the  intemper- 
ate speeches  by  the  officials  of  the  National  Association;  and  that 
the  men  had  no  opportunity  to  calmly  consider  a  vote  upon  this 
most  important  subject. 


Chapter  VII. 


THE  STRIKE 

The  officers  of  the  Street  Railway  Company  were  promptly 
advised  of  the  results  of  the  meetings,  both  afternoon  and  evening, 
at  which  the  strike  was  voted,  and  during  the  night  such  prepara- 
tions were  made  as  were  possible  to  meet  the  situation.  Chief 
of  Police  John  J,  Donahue  took  personal  charge  of  his  forces,  and 
squads  of  policemen  were  stationed  at  each  car  barn,  so  that  when 
the  pickets  of  the  strikers  attempted,  as  they  did,  to  intercept 
those  who  desired  to  work  or  to  interfere  with  the  cars  as  they  came 
out  of  the  barns,  the  poUce  promptly  and  effectively  prevented  any 
and  all  violence.  The  Assistant  General  Manager  of  the  company, 
the  Superintendent  of  Transportation  and  the  numerous  road 
officers  were  on  the  scene,  and  one  and  all,  together  with  the  men 
loyal  to  the  company,  did  all  that  was  possible  to  furnish  the  most 
efficient  service  that  could  be  carried  on  under  the  circumstances. 

About  300  of  the  635  operating  employes  of  the  company  be- 
longed to  the  union  when  the  strike  was  voted. 

Many  of  the  operating  employes,  who  did  not  belong  to  the 
union,  were  so  much  alarmed  by  the  demonstrations  of  the  strikers 
and  their  fiiends  and  their  threats  to  commit  bodily  injury,  that 
quite  a  large  number  of  these  loyal  men  refused  to  take  out  their 
cars.  In  order  to  induce  as  many  as  possible  to  take  out  their 
cars,  an  order  was  posted  in  each  barn  by  the  Assistant  General 
Manager,  stating  that  all  who  refused  to  work  would  be  discharged 
by  the  company.  The  effect  of  this  order  was  to  sever  from  the 
employ  of  the  company  quite  a  large  number  of  men  who  did  not 
at  that  time  belong  to  the  union,  but  who  were  too  timid  to  take 
out  their  cars.  These  men  were  immediately  soUcited  by  union 
men  to  join  their  forces,  and  were  given  assurances  that  within  a 
short  time  the  union  would  force  their  reinstatement.  Some  of 
them,  against  their  inclinations,  were  thus  forced  into  the  union. 

The  plans  so  carefully  laid  to  prevent  the  operation  of  the 
cars  proved  abortive,  on  account  of  the  presence  at  each  of  the 

(«) 


64  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

barns  of  a  squad  of  policemen.  However,  only  a  comparatively 
small  number  of  cars  were  sent  out  on  each  line  during  the  first 
day  of  the  strike.  Many  of  these  cars  were  stoned,  and  the  opera- 
tives were  insulted  and  in  some  cases  assaulted  by  strike  sympa- 
thizers, but  on  the  first  day  of  the  strike  and  all  during  its  pro- 
gress our  citizens  in  large  numbers  rode  on  the  cars. 

During  the  first  day  of  the  strike  a  large  number  of  circulars 
were  distributed  on  the  streets,  stating  the  grievances  of  the 
strikers.    The  circular  read  as  follows: 

THE  STREET  CAR  LOCKOUT 


A  Truthful  Statement  of  Facts  by  the  Street  Car  Men 


TO  THE  PUBLIC 

Read,  Investigate,  Reflect,  and  then  use  Your  Influence  in  Fighting 
for  the  Cause  of  Justice. 

"The  Street  Railway  Company  Positively  REFUSE  to  make 
any  agreement  of  any  nature  with  the  authorized  representatives 
of  their  employes  that  would  protect  them  in  their  employment. 

"THE  COMPANY  POSITIVELY  REFUSE  TO  ARBITRATE 
the  grievances  of  the  men. 

"  The  Company  have  Violated  every  verbal  promise  that  they 
have  made  their  employes  for  the  past  seven  years.  The  Company 
Compelled  new  men  when  being  hired,  to  promise  that  they  would 
not  join  the  union. 

"The  Company  Have  Compelled  their  under  officials  to  picket 
the  union  meetings  and  to  spy  upon  the  men,  using  intimidating 
and  discriminating  methods  that  are  intolerable.  They  employ 
spies  and  detectives  to  hound  our  representatives  and  officials. 

"  Employes  are  compelled  to  work  nine  consecutive  years  in 
the  service  of  the  Company  before  they  can  receive  the  26  cents 
per  hour.  The  minimum  wage  rate  is  21  cents  per  hour. 
1  -4  "  About  four  hundred  and  fifty-six  men  were  discharged  or 
forced  to  resign  during  the  past  year.  Only  about  six  hundred 
men  are  employed  all  told,  so  it  is  easy  to  see  how  many  men  have 
any  chance  of  ever  receiving  the  26  cent  rate.  The  greatest  num- 
ber of  the  employes  are  kept  at  the  low  rate  of  wages,  and  with 
the  present  high  cost  of  living  it  is  impossible  to  live  decently  upon 
the  amount  they  receive  and  maintain  the  standard  of  American 
citizenship. 

"  Men  are  compelled  to  work  swing  runs  that  require  them  to 
put  in  20  hours  out  of  every  24  hours,  and  they  only  receive  nine 
and  ten  hours  pay.     The  most  inhuman  conditions  prevail  in  that 


THE  STRIKE  66 

respect  that  can  be  found  anywhere  in  the  world.  If  animals 
were  treated  that  way,  the  humane  society  would  interfere.  If 
men  are  too  sick  to  work,  the  Company  censure  them,  and  some- 
times suspends  them  from  service  afterward  for  'discipline.' 

"  No  provisions  whatever  are  made  for  the  conveniences  of 
the  men  while  at  work  and  the  laws  of  health  are  forced  to  be 
neglected,  causing  great  suffering,  besides  injuring  one's  health. 
Extra  men  are  Compelled  to  Sit  Around  the  Barns  all  Day  Without 
Pay,  and  regular  men  are  not  permitted  to  lay  off  and  give  the 
extra  men  a  chance  to  work. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  all  the  employes  held  Monday,  September 
13th,  the  men  voted  unanimously  instructing  the  committee  to 
immediately  wait  upon  the  Company  and  insist  upon  a  definite 
understanding  that  would  protect  them  in  their  rights,  and  adjust 
the  intolerable  conditions  complained  of.  The  committee  accord- 
ingly met  with  President  Gurdon  W.  Wattles  on  Wednesday, 
September  15th,  and  explained  the  requests  of  the  men.  President 
Wattles  refused  to  agree  to  any  satisfactory  adjustment  of  the 
grievances  and  said,  'that  he  would  cut  his  right  hand  off  before 
he  would  ever  sign  any  written  agreement.'  Regardless  of  what 
the  Company  may  say  to  the  contrary,  the  only  question  involved 
in  this  fight  is  a  question  of  humane  treatment  and  decent  living 
wages.  We  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less.  We  have  confi- 
dence that  the  public  will  insist  upon  fair  play  and  a  square  deal 
and  as  we  stand  for  arbitration,  it  is  sufficient  evidence  that  we 
have  nothing  to  fear,  as  all  we  ask  for  is  'justice,'  and  that  we  insist 
upon,  even  though  we  have  to  fight  for  it. 

"  We  regret  to  cause  the  pubUc  inconvenience,  but  the  Com- 
pany forced  the  fight  and  there  was  nothing  else  left  for  us  to  do. 
We  have  left  no  stone  unturned  in  an  effort  to  secure  a  peaceful 
settlement.  We  must  abide  by  your  decision.  Our  cause  is  in 
your  hands. 
P.  J.  Lenahan,  Sec'y. 

Chas.  H.  Lear,  M.  J.  Kenney, 

W.    GiLLAN,  W.    H.    PONCELOW, 

H.  P.  Nelson,  Wm.  S.  Boien." 

It  should  be  noted  that  this  circular  calls  the  strike  a  "  lock- 
out", while,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  a  strike  by  the  men  and  not 
a  lockout  by  the  company.  An  interesting  bit  of  evidence,  which 
shows  that  this  strike  was  planned  by  the  two  outside  leaders  who 
came  here  evidently  for  the  purpose  of  producing  a  strike,  is  dis- 
closed by  the  fact  that  this  circular  was  printed  two  days  previous 
to  the  date  on  which  the  strike  was  voted. 

A  copy  of  the  circular  found  its  way  into  the  hands  of  the 
officers  of  the  company  the  day  before  the  strike  was  voted. 
Other  evidence,  which  they  are  not  at  liberty  to  disclose,  advised 


66  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

them  of  the  plans  of  the  strike  promoters.  They,  therefore,  had 
already  communicated  with  Messrs.  Waddell  &  Mahon,  of  New 
York  City,  and  had  arranged  for  the  shipment  to  Omaha  of  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  strike-breakei-s  to  take  the  places  of  all  who  might 
go  out. 

The  first  detachment  of  these  strike-breakers,  128  in  number, 
reached  Omaha  on  Sunday  morning,  September  19th,  and  they 
were  immediately  set  to  work  operating  cars.  On  Monday  and 
Tuesday  additional  detachments  arrived,  amounting  in  all  to 
over  500  men,  all  of  whom  were  quartered  in  or  near  the  car  barns, 
in  a  manner  that  will  be  more  fully  described  in  another  chapter. 
After  the  first  day  of  the  strike  the  service  of  the  company  was 
increased  daily  on  all  its  fines,  and  during  daylight  hours  for  the 
first  three  days  of  the  strike  about  one-half  the  regular  service 
was  maintained  on  every  fine.  This  service  was  increased  daily 
after  the  first  three  days,  so  that  by  the  end  of  the  first  week  of 
the  strike  practically  a  full  dayfight  service  was  restored. 

A  newspaper  campaign  was  at  once  begun  by  the  company 
to  correct  the  many  misstatements  that  were  being  made  by  the 
strike  promoters.  The  circular  pubfished  and  distributed  on  the 
streets  by  the  strikers,  containing  their  alleged  grievances,  was 
answered  by  the  president  of  the  company  in  a  full  page  statement 
in  the  Sunday  papers. 

This  statement,  after  reviewing  the  history  of  events  leading 
up  to  the  strike,  concluded  as  follows: 

"A  circular  to  the  pubfic  has  been  issued  by  the  executive 
committee  of  the  union.  It  contains  so  many  misstatements  of 
fact  that  we  must  review  and  correct  these  misleading  statements. 
This  statement  says,  among  other  things,  that  the  company  has 
violated  every  verbal  promise  it  has  made  to  its  employes  for 
the  past  seven  years;  that  the  company  has  compelled  a  pledge 
from  new  men  that  they  would  not  join  the  union. 

"  We  ask  for  the  proof.  No  man  entering  the  employ  of  the 
company  has  been  asked  regarding  whether  or  not  he  would  join 
the  union.  No  promises  of  the  company  verbal  or  written  have 
been  violated  with  the  men. 

"The  statement  says  that  the  company  was  compelfing  its 
under  officials  to  picket  union  meetings  and  spying  upon  the  men, 
using  intimidating  and  discriminating  methods  that  are  intolerable. 

"  No  man  in  the  employ  of  the  Street  Railway  Company  has 
been  compelled  or  asked  to  picket  union  meetings.  The  fact  was 
brought  out  by  a  statement  of  Mr.  Pratt,  before  the  business  men's 
meeting,  that  the  local  union  recruited  during  the  past  month 


THE  STRIKE  67 

from  twelve  to  300  members.  Statements  during  this  time  have 
been  authorized  by  the  president  of  this  company  and  published 
in  at  least  one  of  the  local  papers,  that  the  company  did  not  forbid 
men  in  its  employ  from  joining  the  union,  and  the  fact  that  a  large 
number  have  joined,  under  the  influence  of  the  agitation  by  these 
outside  organizers  during  the  past  month,  is  a  complete  answer 
to  this  statement. 

"The  statement  that  456  men  were  discharged  or  forced  to 
resign  during  the  past  year  is  misleading.  It  leaves  the  inference 
that  only  a  few  of  our  employes  are  receiving  the  maximum  wage, 
and  that  the  company  seeks  to  prevent  men  from  becoming  old 
enough  in  the  service  to  receive  the  maximum  wage.  The  con- 
trary is  true.  The  interests  of  the  company  are  to  retain  all  its 
old  employes,  and  they  are  never  discharged  except  for  the  most 
flagrant  violations  of  rules.  The  fact  that,  out  of  about  600  con- 
ductors and  motormen,  140  are  receiving  the  maximum  pay  dis- 
proves this  assertion. 

"  The  statement  that  men  are  compelled  to  run  on  *  swing* 
runs  that  require  them  to  put  in  twenty  hours  out  of  the  twenty- 
four  and  only  receive  nine  hours'  pay,  is  absolutely  false.  Such 
a  condition  would  make  this  company  Uable  to  prosecution  under 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Act,  which  prohibits  any  such  abuses. 
It  is  true  that  on  a  few  of  the  runs  under  the  present  schedule 
men  from  choice  select  runs  that  require  their  service  both  early 
and  late,  so  that  during  the  principal  part  of  the  day  they  are 
at  home  with  their  families.  But  no  man  is  obliged  to  take  such 
a  run,  unless  from  his  own  choice,  and,  as  I  have  said  before,  we 
have  at  all  times  stated  to  the  men  that  we  would  gladly  change 
any  schedule,  if  a  better  one  can  be  suggested  that  will  prevent 
any  abuse  of  any  kind  or  character  among  our  employes. 

"  The  inference  that  extra  men  are  not  permitted  to  earn 
decent  wages  is  equally  false.  The  average  earnings  for  all  of 
the  extra  conductors  on  our  Unes  during  the  past  month  was  $55.82, 
and  for  all  the  extra  motormen  $54.08,  while  the  men  longer  in 
the  service  receive  from  $65  to  $90  per  month.  It  is  true  that 
among  the  extra  men  serving  their  first  year's  time  there  are  many 
changes  and  fluctuations.  Some  are  discharged,  many  quit  of 
their  own  accord,  and  only  those  remain  in  the  service  who  are 
of  the  better  class.  There  are  many  floating  employes  who  do  not 
want  to  work  more  than  a  few  months  in  any  city,  and  this  accounts 
for  the  large  number  of  changes  among  the  men  during  the  first 
year's  service. 

"There  is  not  and  has  not  been  any  difference  between  the 
ofi&cers  of  the  Street  Railway  Company  and  its  union  employes 
which  could  not  and  would  not  have  been  fairly  adjusted,  but  for 
the  interference  of  outside  agitators.  If  the  matters  in  dispute 
had  been  looked  into  by  our  local  labor  union  leaders,  there  is  not 
the  least  doubt  in  the  world  that  an  amicable  adjustment  could 


68  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

have  been  made,  the  same  as  it  was  two  and  a  half  years  ago  under 
a  like  agitation.  But  this  has  not  been  done.  The  glory  of  calling 
a  strike  and  winning  a  fight  is  a  trophy  which  two  rival  non-resi- 
dent labor  leaders  are  seeking  to  carry  back  to  a  convention  to  be 
held,  at  which  these  men  are  candidates  for  re-election;  and  there- 
fore, without  regard  to  the  great  inconvenience  and  loss  that  will 
come  to  the  communities  served  by  the  Street  Railway  Company, 
this  strike  has  been  ordered.  It  is  not  a  lockout.  It  is  a  strike 
precipitated  by  agitation  and  undue  influence  from  outsiders. 
It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  or  not  a  closed  shop  is  to  be  forced 
on  to  the  employes  of  our  Street  Railway  system. 

OMAHA  &  COUNCIL  BLUFFS  STREET  RAILWAY  CO. 
By  G.  W.  Wattles,  President." 

Inasmuch  as  many  false  and  misleading  statements  were  being 
circulated  as  to  what  actually  took  place  at  the  only  meeting  held 
between  the  President  of  the  Street  Railway  Company  and  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Union,  the  stenographic  report  of 
that  meeting  was  published  in  full  in  all  of  the  daily  papers. 
These  proceedings  appear  in  Chapter  IV. 

A  mass  meeting  of  the  strikers  and  labor  union  sympathizers 
was  called  at  Labor  Temple  for  Sunday  afternoon,  September  19th, 
at  two  o'clock.  After  the  meeting  had  been  addressed  by  the 
leaders,  a  parade  on  the  principal  streets  of  the  city  was  arranged. 
This  parade  resulted  in  numerous  acts  of  violence,  in  that  several 
cars  were  attacked  and  operatives  assaulted.  During  the  parade, 
or  soon  after  it,  a  car  was  attacked  on  the  Council  Blufifs  division 
near  the  east  end  of  the  Missouri  River  bridge,  and  the  operatives 
were  beaten  and  the  car  dismantled. 

While  the  two  national  officers  who  were  leading  the  strike 
carefully  avoided  any  participation  in  rioting,  and,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  strike,  in  pubUc  speeches  advised  the  strikers  to  refrain 
from  rioting,  yet  all  through  the  strike  these  leaders  continually 
planned  to  bring  about  conditions  through  pubUc  meetings  and 
parades  that  they,  with  their  experience  in  the  strike  business, 
ought  to  have  known  might  incite  rioting,  bloodshed  and  possibly 
murder. 

As  the  strike  progressed,  however,  they  were  not  so  careful 
as  at  the  first  in  advising  strike  sympathizers  to  refrain  from  all 
violence.  Regarding  the  rioting  on  the  streets  on  Sunday,  Mr. 
C.  O.  Pratt  is  reported  in  the  public  press  to  have  made  the  follow- 
ing  statement:     "Regarding  the   disturbance   that   took  place 


THE  STRIKE  69 

on  the  streets  on  Sunday,  I  wish  to  state  in  behalf  of  the  union 
street  car  men  that  we  very  much  regret  that  anything  should 
occur  that  would  give  the  railroad  company  any  excuse  for  claim- 
ing that  the  union  men  and  their  sympathizers  are  in  any  way  re- 
sponsible for  disorders  that  may  arise.  We  will  urge  all  our  friends 
to  exercise  the  utmost  caution  in  regard  to  even  countenancing 
any  acts  of  violence." 

Before  the  strike  had  continued  a  week,  however,  Mr.  Pratt 
was  quoted  in  the  public  press  as  follows:  "I  have  counseled 
peaceful  methods  all  along,  but  after  "what  happened  on  Vinton 
Street  Wednesday  night  and  on  Dodge  Street  today  I  have  nothing 
further  to  say.  The  people  of  Omaha  are  intelligent  enough  to 
know  what  to  do.  I  don't  think  that  any  citizen  has  to  be  punched 
in  the  face  more  than  once  or  twice  before  protecting  himself." 

On  September  23rd,  Sherifif  Edwin  F.  Brailey  issued  a  procla- 
mation as  follows: 

"To  the  Citizens  of  Douglas  County:  The  dispute  which  has 
arisen  between  the  street  car  company  and  its  employes  has  resulted 
in  the  last  few  days  in  a  number  of  riotous  demonstrations,  in 
which  there  has  been  injury  to  property  and  person.  In  my  efforts 
to  preserve  order  at  these  times  I  have  observed  that  the  dis- 
turbance is  mainly  caused  by  the  gathering  of  curious  crowds, 
at  which  times  hoodlums  and  disorderly  characters  have  taken  ad- 
vantage of  the  situation  to  perpetrate  acts  of  violence,  which 
cannot  in  any  sense  in  my  opinion  be  attributed  to  any  of  the  par- 
ties engaged  in  this  controversy.  At  this  time  and  under  these 
circumstances  I  desire  to  call  the  attention  of  all  citizens  of  this  city 
to  the  provisions  of  our  statute  in  regard  to  'unlawful  assembly,' 
and  to  the  proclamation  of  what  is  known  as  the  'riot  act.' 

"  Our  statute  provides  that  when  three  or  more  persons  shall 
assemble  together  with  intent  to  do  any  unlawful  act  with  force 
and  violence  against  the  person  or  property  of  any  other,  or  do 
any  unlawful  act  against  the  peace,  or  being  unlawfully  assembled, 
shall  agree  with  each  other  to  do  any  unlawful  act  as  aforesaid, 
and  shall  make  any  movement  or  preparation  therefor,  the  person 
so  offending  shall  be  fined  in  any  sum  not  exceeding  one  hundred 
dollars  ($100)  and  be  imprisoned  in  the  jail  of  the  county  not 
exceeding  three  months. 

"  The  statute  further  provides  that  when  three  or  more  per- 
sons shall  be  assembled  as  aforesaid  and  proceed  to  commit  any 
of  the  offenses  aforesaid,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  judges,  justices 
of  the  peace,  and  sheriffs  and  all  ministerial  offices,  immedi- 
ately upon  actual  view  or  as  soon  as  may  be,  on  information, 
to  make  proclamation  in  the  hearing  of  such  offenders  command- 
ing them  in  the  name  of  the  state  of  Nebraska  to  disperse  and 


70  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

depart  to  their  several  homes  or  lawful  employments;  and  if 
upon  such  proclamation  such  persons  shall  not  disperse  or  depart 
as  aforesaid,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  such  judges,  justices  of  the  peace 
and  sherifiFs  and  all  other  ministerial  officers,  respectively,  to  call 
upon  all  persons  near,  and  if  necessary  throughout  the  county,  to 
aid  and  assist  in  dispersing  and  taking  into  custody  all  persons 
assembled  as  aforesaid,  and  miUtary  officers  or  others  called  on 
as  aforesaid  and  refusing  to  render  immediate  assistance,  shall 
be  fined  in  any  sum  not  exceeding  twenty-five  dollars  ($25). 

"I  shall  instruct  all  deputies  acting  under  my  authority 
whenever  a  crowd  assembles  and  a  riotous  demonstration  is  made 
to  command  them  to  disperse  and  depart  to  their  several  homes 
or  lawful  employments.  When  this  is  done  either  by  myself  or 
deputy,  all  persons  who  remain  and  refuse  to  depart  are  liable 
to  arrest  and  punishment  under  the  law. 

"  I  desire  at  this  time  especially  the  assistance  and  co-opera- 
tion of  the  citizens  of  Douglas  county  in  the  preservation  of  order 
and  feel  satisfied  that  all  law  abiding  citizens  will  refrain  from  such 
unlawful  gatherings,  and  that  those  that  do  not  must  take  the 
consequences. 

Edwin   F.    Brailey,   Sheriff." 

On  September  25th,  the  Street  Railway  Company  served  on 
the  City  of  Omaha,  the  County  of  Douglas,  the  City  of  South 
Omaha  and  the  City  of  Council  Bluffs  the  following  notice: 

"  To  the  City  of  Omaha  and  to  the  Mayor  and  Council  of  the  City 
of  Omaha;  to  the  City  of  South  Omaha  and  to  the  Mayor 
and  Council  of  the  City  of  South  Omaha;  to  the  County  of 
Douglas  and  to  the  Board  of  County  Commissioners  of  the 
County  of  Douglas: 

"The  Omaha  &  Council  Bluffs  Street  Railway  Company 
hereby  gives  notice  to  you  and  to  each  of  you  that  within  the  cities 
of  Omaha  and  South  Omaha,  and  within  the  County  of  Douglas, 
its  street  railway  property,  consisting  of  buildings,  cars,  tracks, 
switches,  electrical  wires  and  appliances,  is  not  receiving  sufficient, 
adequate  and  proper  protection  against  unlawful  assaults,  injury, 
damage  and  destruction  by  individuals,  persons  and  mob  violence, 
and  that  the  men  operating  its  cars  have  not  been  receiving  suffi- 
cient, adequate  and  proper  protection  against  assaults  by  persons, 
individuals  and  by  mob  violence;  and  that  said  company  fears 
and  believes,  and  has  good  reason  to  fear  and  beheve  that  unless 
more  prompt,  efficient  and  decisive  action  is  at  once  taken  by 
the  said  municipal  and  county  authorities  that  further  injury  to 
and  destruction  of  its  said  property  will  be  wrongfully  and  unlaw- 
fully committed  by  persons,  individuals  and  mob  violence,  and 
that  further  assaults  will  be  made  upon  the  employes  of  the  com- 
pany operating  its  cars,  all  to  the  great  damage  and  destruction 
of  the  property  of  the  company,  and  to  the  interference  with  and 


THE  STRIKE  71 

interruption  of  the  operation  of  its  cars  and  lines  of  street  railway. 

"  Demand  is  therefore  made  upon  you  and  upon  each  of  you 
that  within  your  said  respective  municipalities  and  boundaries 
you  take  prompt,  sufficient,  decisive  and  effective  action  to  pre- 
vent unlawful  assemblages,  and  to  prevent  assaults  upon  the 
employes  of  the  company  operating  its  cars,  and  to  prevent  all 
injury  and  damage  of  every  kind  and  nature  to  the  properties 
of  the  street  railway  company  hereinbefore  more  particularly 
described,  so  that  the  company  shall  be  permitted  to  operate  its 
cars  and  railway  without  interruption  and  interference,  and  that 
its  employes  may  operate  its  said  cars  without  fear  of  assault  or 
personal  injury,  and  so  that  other  persons  wishing  to  engage  in  the 
operation  of  its  cars  may  not  be  prevented  from  doing  so  by  fear 
for  their  personal  safety. 

"  You  and  each  of  you  are  hereby  notified  that  said  company 
will  hold  you  and  each  of  you  Uable  to  it  for  all  damage  or  injury 
done  its  property  by  individual  persons,  strikers,  strike  sympa- 
thizers, or  the  result  of  mob  violence;  and  the  said  company  will 
look  to  you  and  each  of  you,  and  will  hold  you  and  each  of  you 
liable  to  it  for  all  damage  and  destruction  committed  upon  any 
of  its  properties  above  described  and  under  the  circumstances 
above  described;  and  for  any  and  all  damages  resulting  from  as- 
saults upon  its  employes  under  the  circumstances  above  described. 

OMAHA  &  COUNCIL  BLUFFS  STREET  RAILWAY  CO. 

"  By  G.  W.  Wattles,  President. " 

This  proclamation  and  this  notice  had  a  tendency  to  reduce 
acts  of  violence,  and  from  that  time  foi'ward  very  little  damage  to 
the  property  of  the  company  was  done. 

Pursuant  to  the  evident  plan  of  the  strike  leaders,  to  bring 
about  conditions  that  would  stop  the  operation  of  the  cars,  a  mass 
meeting  was  called  to  be  held  on  a  vacant  lot  near  the  Vinton  Street 
bam  for  Tuesday  evening,  September  21st.  During  this  meeting 
and  immediately  after  it  the  most  serious  rioting  of  the  strike  oc- 
curred. A  dozen  or  more  cars  were  stoned,  and  strike-breaking 
operatives  were  assaulted  and  two  or  three  of  them  very  seriously 
injured.  A  large  number  of  strike-breaking  operatives  were  at 
the  time  quartered  in  the  Vinton  Street  car  barn,  and  it  was  only 
by  the  most  strenuous  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  officers  and  Ueu- 
tenants  in  charge  of  these  strike-breakers  that  they  were  prevented 
from  engaging  in  a  general  riot  with  the  large  crowd,  that  sur- 
rounded the  car  barn  and  continually  engaged  in  attacking  the 
operatives  and  the  cars  as  they  came  on  to  the  scene.  The  police, 
the  sheriff  and  a  large  number  of  deputies  did  all  in  their  power 
to  disperse  this  mob  and  to  prevent  violence,  but  for  nearly  an 


72  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

hour  the  rioting  was  continued.  Several  cars  were  badly  damaged, 
the  windows  were  broken,  the  seats  were  torn  out  and  all  the  de- 
struction possible  was  done. 

This  was  the  first  evening  that  the  company  had  attempted 
ro  run  cars  after  seven  o'clock  P.  M.  The  results  were  so  dis- 
astrous that  for  several  days  thereafter  no  cars  were  run  after  this 
hour. 

Other  meetings  and  .parades  were  planned,  the  meetings  to 
be  held  at  or  near  the  car  barns,  where  the  danger  of  rioting  would 
be  the  greatest,  until  the  police  and  the  sheriff  finally  forbade  the 
holding  of  such  meetings,  but  were  compelled  to  disperse  one  that 
was  being  held  near  the  Ames  Avenue  barn  on  the  evening  of 
October  1st.  Messrs.  Pratt  and  Commons  and  other  speakers  on 
the  platform  were  unceremoniously  removed,  and  the  meeting  was 
dispersed  after  some  rioting  had  occurred.  A  great  protest  was 
made  by  the  strike  leaders  against  what  they  termed  the  inter- 
ference of  the  poUce  with  their  constitutional  right  of  free  speech, 
but,  generally  speaking,  the  best  citizens  of  Omaha  upheld  the 
officers  of  the  law  in  their  most  efficient  efforts  to  preserve  law  and 
order. 

But  for  the  praiseworthy  efforts  of  Sheriff  E.  F.  Brailey  and 
his  deputies  and  Chief  of  Police  John  J.  Donahue  and  his  entire 
force,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  many  crimes  would  have  been 
committed  by  excitable  individuals,  who  were  deluded  into  the 
belief  that  by  committing  acts  of  violence  they  were  assisting  the 
cause  of  labor. 

As  the  strike  progressed,  the  sober  second  thought  of  the 
union  laborers  of  the  city  each  day  lessened  rioting  and  acts  of 
violence.  A  great  parade  had  been  planned  for  all  the  labor  union 
men  of  the  city  to  take  place  on  Saturday  afternoon,  October  2nd, 
by  authority  of  a  resolution  passed  by  the  Central  Labor  Union. 
This  parade  was  called  off  on  the  urgent  request  of  many  business 
men,  and  while  the  striking  carmen  were  permitted  to  parade  the 
streets  on  Wednesday,  September  29th,  the  permission  was  only 
granted  on  the  promise  by  the  leaders  that  there  would  be  no 
demonstrations  nor  rioting.  Be  it  said  to  the  credit  of  these  men 
that  this  promise  was  faithfully  kept. 


Chapter  VIII. 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS 

On  Monday,  September  20th,  President  William  H.  Taft  was 
due  to  arrive  in  Omaha.  On  the  morning  of  that  date.  Mayor 
Dahlman  received  a  dispatch  from  Fred  W.  Carpenter,  Secretary 
to  the  President,  as  follows: 

"Please  wire  me  at  once  condition  of  strike  in  your  city. 
Cannot  arrangements  be  made  to  have  strike  called  off  for  period 
of  President's  visit?" 

The  Mayor  at  once  consulted  the  President  of  the  Street  Rail- 
way Company.  His  reply  was:  "  We  did  not  call  the  strike,  and 
we  cannot  suspend  it,  but,  if  you  request  it,  we  will  suspend  all 
street  car  traffic  during  the  time  the  President's  party  is  here. " 

On  the  request  of  the  Mayor,  all  car  service  was  suspended  at 
four  o'clock  P.  M.,  just  before  the  arrival  of  President  Taft. 
Mayor  Dahlman  replied  to  the  request  of  the  Secretary  to  the  Pres- 
ident as  follows: 

"Fred  W.  Carpenter,  Washington,  D.  C.  Everything  quiet 
here.  All  cars  will  be  stopped  from  running  before  the  President 
arrives  and  during  his  stay  in  the  city. " 

No  doubt,  the  strike  was  called  just  before  the  important 
occasion  of  the  visit  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  with  a 
view  of  forcing  the  Street  Railway  Company  to  an  immediate 
acceptance  of  the  terms  demanded  by  the  strikers.  An  effort 
was  made  by  Strike  Leader  Pratt,  on  the  day  of  the  President's 
visit,  to  secure  from  the  Street  Railway  Company  an  agreement 
along  the  Unes  of  his  previous  proposition,  conditioned,  however, 
as  were  all  subsequent  offers  of  settlement,  on  an  agreement  from 
the  company  to  reinstate  all  of  the  striking  employes  without 
prejudice. 

During  the  President's  visit  order  was  maintained,  and  a  prac- 
tical truce  in  the  strike  situation  observed. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  City  Council  on  Monday,  September  20th, 
the  officers  of  the  Street  Railway  Company  and  the  leaders  of  the 

(73) 


74  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

strike  were  asked  to  appear  before  the  Mayor  and  the  City  Council 
at  ten  o'clock  Tuesday  morning,  September  21st,  for  a  hearing, 
in  order  that  the  city  officials  might,  if  possible,  in  some  manner 
bring  about  a  settlement  of  the  strike.  Although  it  was  a  time 
of  the  greatest  possible  exertion,  with  many  matters  of  importance 
to  consider  on  the  part  of  the  Street  Railway  officials,  the  President 
and  several  members  of  the  Board  of  Directors  appeared  at  the 
time  fixed  for  the  meeting.  The  council  chamber  in  the  city  hall 
was  well  filled  with  striking  carmen,  city  and  county  officials,  and 
a  large  number  of  prominent  business  men.  What  was  said  at 
this  meeting  was  taken  down  by  a  court  reporter  and  is  here  given 
in  fuU: 

Special  meeting  at  City  Hall  Council  Chamber,  City  of  Omaha, 
Tuesday,  September  21,  1909,  at  ten  o'clock  a.  m.,  between  certain 
officers  of  the  Omaha  &  Council  Bluffs  Street  Railway  Company, 
to- wit,  Messrs.  G.  W.  Wattles,  president;  F.  T.  Hamilton,  vice- 
president;  K.  C.  Barton  and  L.  F.  Crofoot,  directors,  and  R.  A. 
Leussler,  assistant  general  manager,  and  the  following  committee 
appearing  for  the  striking  employes  of  the  Street  Railway  company, 
to- wit,  Mr.  Charles  H.  Lear,  president  of  the  street  railway  em- 
ployes union;  Mr.  P.  J.  Lenahan,  financial  secretary  of  the  street 
railway  employes  union;  and  David  R.  Turney,  of  the  local  union;  at 
which  meeting  the  above  named  persons,  as  well  as  Mr.  Pratt, 
the  representative  of  the  International  Carmen's  union,  presented 
the  situation  to  Mayor  Dahlman  and  the  city  council  of  the  city 
of  Omaha. 

The  following  is  a  stenographic  report  of  the  proceedings : 

Councilman  Burmester  acted  as  chairman  of  the  meeting. 

Chairman  Burmester:  The  meeting  is  now  open.  I  will 
ask  all  present  to  please  be  seated. 

Councilman  Berka  :  I  suppose  one  side  or  the  other  should 
make  their  statement.  One  side  may  take  the  affirmative  and 
state  their  grievances.     That  is  the  usual  procedure. 

Chairman  Burmester:  If  there  is  no  objection,  we  will  hear 
from  the  committee  from  the  labor  union. 

Councilman  Hummel:  When  this  debate  is  closed,  is  the 
question  to  be  submitted  to  the  council,  and  will  its  action  be 
final,  and  will  it  be  carried  out  between  the  parties,  or  is  this  merely 
to  be  a  friendly  discussion  for  the  good  of  the  public,  or  do  you 
want  to  get  down  to  a  business  proposition  before  entering  upon 
this  discussion? 

Councilman  McGovern:  To  be  fair  to  those  invited  to 
appear  before  the  council,  I  think  it  is  proper  to  say  at  this  time 
that  the  honorable  mayor  of  this  city  came  before  the  council 
yesterday  afternoon  and  all  the  members  of  the  council  agreed  to 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  75 

call  this  committee  together;  that  is,  a  committee  from  the 
employes  of  the  street  railway,  and  Mr.  Wattles  and  other  officers 
of  the  road,  and  give  them  an  opportunity  to  present  their  diffi- 
culties, and  to  see  if  it  is  within  the  power  of  the  council  and  the 
mayor  to  settle  the  troubles,  or  bring  the  parties  together  as  near 
as  possible,  and  give  the  city  of  Omaha  what  she  is  entitled  to 
have,  peace  at  home  and  good  street  car  service.  We  would  like 
to  hear  from  the  mayor. 

Chairman  Burmester:  If  there  is  no  objection,  the  mayor 
will  be  heard  from. 

Mayor  Dahlman  :  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen :  My  object 
in  asking  the  council  to  hold  a  meeting  with  the  parties  who  are 
engaged  in  this  controversy,  was  this: 

It  seems  that — as  we  all  know — there  is  a  strike  on;  and  it 
has,  of  course,  been  a  great  inconvenience  to  the  public,  and  it 
will  undoubtedly  result  in  a  great  loss  to  both  cities,  whoever  may 
win;  and  my  object  in  calling  the  city  council  and  asking  them  to 
have  this  meeting  with  the  different  committees  was  to  see  if  there 
was  anything  we  could  do,  as  officials  of  the  city,  to  bring  about 
some  settlement  which  would  bring  this  controversy  to  an  end; 
and  for  that  reason  it  was  suggested  that  a  committee  of  the  local 
men  themselves,  the  men  who  have  actually  been  engaged  in  the 
running  of  the  street  cars,  be  invited,  and  the  officials  of  the  street 
car  company.  Of  course,  if  we  could  have  each  side  of  the  question 
presented  separately  by  the  representatives  of  both  sides  here, 
who  understand  all  about  the  controversy,  we  might  be  able  to 
do  something  towards  settling  the  difficulty,  and  these  men  who 
are  now  out  might  be  able  to  go  back  to  work  and  everything  be 
settled    satisfactorily. 

I  felt  that  it  was  our  duty,  as  city  officials,  to  do  what  we 
could  to  settle  this  difficulty,  so  that  we  might  have  peace  and 
harmony  in  the  community,  and  the  business  of  the  street  railway 
and  of  the  city  go  on  undisturbed  as  it  has  been  in  the  past;  and 
I  thought  the  proper  way  would  be  to  hear  from  each  side  and  then 
see  whether  there  is  any  suggestion  that  can  be  made  whereby  we 
could  get  the  parties  together  and  get  this  thing  settled.  That 
was  my  idea  in  calling  this  meeting  together. 

Chairman  Burmester:  What  is  your  further  pleasure? 
I  want  to  hear  from  the  committee  of  the  labor  union.  Gentlemen, 
we  are  ready  to  hear  from  the  committee. 

Mr.  Lenahan:  Mr.  Chairman  and  honorable  mayor  and 
fellow  citizens:  The  street  car  men,  as  employes  of  the  Omaha 
&  Council  Bluffs  Street  Railway  company,  desire  nothing  but 
peace,  and  the  street  car  boys  will  do  all  in  their  power  to  bring 
about  peace. 

We  had  one  or  two  conferences  with  the  officials  of  the  Omaha 
&.  Council  Bluffs  Street  Railway  company — one  before  the  directors 
and  the  final  one  before  Mr.  Wattles  about  a  week  ago.     We  did 


76  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

everything  then,  at  our  conference  before  Mr.  Wattles,  that  could 
be  done.  We  appealed  to  Mr.  Wattles  to  concede  something  to 
the  street  car  boys — to  put  them  on  some  basis  whereby  they 
would  know  under  what  conditions  they  were  working,  and  to 
eliminate  some  of  the  conditions  that  are  objectionable  to  them. 

While  many  of  the  committee  believe  that  Mr.  Wattles  him- 
self is  a  fair-minded  man  and  does  from  time  to  time  try  to  do  the 
best  he  can,  probably,  for  the  men,  we  took  the  position  that  Mr. 
Wattles  is  not  always  in  the  city;  that  he  has  other  business;  that 
he  has  other  homes  in  other  places,  and  only  spends  a  portion  of 
his  time  in  Omaha,  and  that  he  should  give  us  something  in  writing 
so  that  when  grievances  were  raised  from  time  to  time,  we  could 
go  into  the  office  of  the  superintendent  of  transportation  and  say, 
"Here  are  Mr.  Wattles'  instructions,  Mr.  Superintendent;  we, 
want  you  to  deal  with  us  along  those  lines." 

He  made  many  good  suggestions  at  the  meeting,  suggestions 
which,  if  we  had  them  under  his  signature  we  could  accept — several 
of  them.  But  he  made  the  statements — good  statements,  as  I 
would  call  them,  for  the  men — and  then  refused  absolutely  to 
sign  his  own  statement. 

pi  Now,  gentlemen  of  the  city  council  and  honorable  mayor, 
those  were  the  conditions  that  brought  about  the  serious  matter 
that  is  now  confronting  us  in  the  city  of  Omaha. 

At  that  meeting  we  begged  and  pleaded  with  him,  and 
appealed  to  him  to  agree  to  something  specific  whereby  the  street 
car  boys  of  Omaha  would  know  exactly  what  his  instructions  were 
to  the  under  officials  and  to  the  transportation  department. 

It  is  needless  for  me  to  go  over  the  whole  situation.  Mr. 
Wattles  agreed  to  do  away  with  some  of  the  wrongs,  such  as 
swing  runs  and  other  matters.  He  thought  he  could  probably 
get  around  that  and  settle  that  all  right. 

So  the  cominittee  asked  him  outright:  "Now,  Mr.  Wattles, 
won't  you  sign  some  statement  to  this  effect;  won't  you  sign  some- 
thing for  us  so  that  we  can  take  it  back  to  the  meeting  and  show 
the  men  where  you  stand,  so  that  the  men  will  not  misunderstand 
us;  and,  another  thing,  it  will  be  a  protection  to  us,  so  that  we  will 
not  go  back  there  misconstruing  your  words?" 

"No,  sir,"  he  said,  "I  will  absolutely  sign  nothing  for  this 
committee."  He  said,  "Never  shall  I  sign  any  agreement  with 
representatives  of  this  organization." 

He  says,  "  I  have  my  agreements  with  my  older  employes  and 
non-union  men;  and,"  he  says,  "before  I  will  break  my  word  to 
those  men,  I  will  cut  my  right  hand  off, "  or  "I  would  have  my  right 
hand  off."  Something  to  that  effect;  and,  I  guess,  those  are  the 
exact  words  he  used. 

Then  I  made  an  appeal  to  Mr.  Wattles  again  in  behalf  of  the 
street  car  men,  and  I  told  him  the  seriousness  of  the  situation. 
I  begged  him  to  concede  something  that  would  be  reasonable  and 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  77 

fair,  and  told  him  that  in  the  event  of  him  refusing  to  be  reasonable 
and  fair  that  he  would  bring  about  a  strike  in  the  city  of  Omaha. 

He  says  then — he  went  into  a  lengthy  statement —  and  he 
says:  "We  have  taken  this  matter  up  seriously;  we  have  been 
prepared — we  have  been  prepared  for  you  men,  and  we  don't  care 
much  about  your  organization  anyhow;  we  would  just  as  soon  go  to 
work  and  have  it  out  at  once;"  and  he  raised  the  red  flag,  and  he 
said,  before  the  committee,  that  he  was  prepared  to  run  the  street 
car  men's  organization  out  of  the  city  of  Omaha,  whatever  it  may 
cost  or  at  all  hazards. 

Now,  then,  gentlemen,  we  tell  you  that  the  street  car  men  of 
Omaha  are  a  part  of  the  citizens  of  this  community,  and  like  Mr. 
Wattles  has  got  his  friends,  we  want  to  inform  him  that  the  street 
car  men  that  have  been  operating  his  cars  for  the  last  twenty-one 
or  twenty-two  years,  have  also  friends. 

We  told  Mr.  Wattles  at  that  time  that  the  sentiment  of  ninety- 
five  or  possibly  one  hundred  per  cent  of  the  men  was  with  us. 

He  doubted  that  statement,  and  I  do  not  blame  him  for  that. 
I  do  not  blame  him  for  that — for  at  that  time — at  the  time  we  made 
the  argument — we  only  had  seventy  per  cent  of  the  men  in  the 
organization.  But  after  the  men  saw  the  position  we  took — they 
saw  that  we  took  an  honest,  upright  position;  that  we  were  not 
forcing  Mr.  Wattles  or  the  street  railway  into  any  awkward  position; 
we  were  not  asking  him  to  sign  any  contract  for  a  closed  shop, 
or  of  an  exclusive  nature — all  we  wanted  was  a  contract  whereby 
we  knew  where  we  were  at — under  what  conditions  we  were  work- 
ing, and  try  to  bring  up  the  underpaid  men  in  this  city  to  a  fair 
basis  so  that  these  men  and  their  families  could  live  decently. 

Those  were  the  only  conditions  that  we  asked. 

We  showed  him  plainly  that  the  newer  men  in  the  service 
were  not  getting  a  fair  remuneration  for  their  service — and  he 
partly  agreed  with  us  on  that — partly  agreed  with  us  that  they 
were  not — after  it  was  fairly  stated  to  him. 

But  those  are  the  conditions,  gentlemen,  and  we  regret  them 
very  much  and  if  there  is  anything — any  suggestions  that  the 
city  council  may  have  to  ofifer,  along  peaceable  Unes,  I  do  assure 
you,  as  a  representative  of  the  street  car  employes,  that  I  shall 
do  everything  in  my  power  to  bring  about  peace  and  harmony 
between  the  officers  of  the  street  railway  company  and  their  men. 

Personally,  I  have  no  feeling  against  this  company.  I  want 
to  see  them  prosper.  I  want  to  see  them  go  ahead  and  make 
money.  But  at  the  same  time  I  claim  as  an  American  citizen 
that  the  men  have  rights,  and  we  are  going  to  protect  them  if 
we  had  to  strike  every  thirty  days  to  protect  those  rights. 

That  is  all,  gentlemen.     I  thank  you  for  your  attention. 

Chairman  Bdrmester  :  Any  other  member  of  the  co  mmittee 
want  to  be  heard? 


78  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

Mr.  Lear:  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  city  council: 
I  was  present  with  that  committee  before  Mr.  Wattles  at  that  time, 
and  we  argued  the  question  over  there  as  best  we  could — as  poor 
members  of  the  street  railway — men  without  an  education  before 
a  learned  man — and  neither  one  of  us  has  any  education  or  the 
chances  or  the  ability — we  might  have  the  ability  but  we  have  not 
had  the  opportunity — to  put  this  thing  as  fairly  and  squarely  as 
we  would  like  to  before  a  man  that  has  got  the  education  and  who 
is  making  a  study  of  this  thing.  But  he  refused  to  do  anything. 
He  said  he  would  cut  his  right  hand  off  before  he  would  sign  any 
statement.  He  refused  to  give  us  anything  at  all  in  writing.  We 
told  him  that  we  wanted  something  under  his  signature  to  take 
back  to  these  men,  and  that  otherwise  we  would,  not  be  able  to 
answer  for  the  action  of  the  men.  He  says,  "  Let  them  go  out.  I 
have  five  hundred  men  right  here  to  take  their  places,  and  the 
minute  you  step  off  your  car  you  will  lose  your  position. "  That 
is  the  message  that  he  gave  us  to  take  back  to  these  men;  men  that 
have  been  in  the  service  of  this  company  for  years,  and  have  been 
faithful  in  the  performance  of  their  duty  at  all  times  and  under 
all  conditions;  men  that  do  not  refer  to  the  members  of  this  council 
as  he  did — men  that  do  not  call  the  council  "  hounds"  because  they 
imposed  an  occupation  tax  of  sixty  thousand  dollars  a  year  on  the 
street  railway  company.  No,  sir.  We  pay  our  taxes  like  honor- 
able men  and  honorable  citizens.  We  do  not  go  around  and  call 
the  council  "hounds"  because  they  do  something  that  we  do  not 
want  them  to  do.  And  another  thing  he  said  was  that  if  the  coun- 
cil put  through  the  measure  for  eight  fares  for  a  quarter  that  instead 
of  a  raise  in  our  pay  we  would  get  a  reduction. 

And  when  we  went  up  to  the  meeting  he  ran  a  stenographer 
in  there,  and  he  says,  "I  want  a  report  of  this  meeting,  but  I 
do  not  want  it  for  the  purpose  of  publishing  it;"  he  says,  "I  just 
want  it  for  a  memorandum  of  what  is  said  here. "  I  have  a  copy 
of  the  paper  here  in  which  he  has  published  it — the  whole  thing 
garbled  as  it  is  all  the  way  through. 

The  street  car  company  paid  for  the  publication  of  this  state- 
ment in  the  newspapers  of  this  city.  The  street  car  men  have  not 
got  money  enough  in  their  treasury  to  pay  what  the  cost  of  the 
publication  of  that  statement  must  have  been.  That  statement 
is  put  before  this  council,  and  I  say  that  it  is  garbled  all  the  way 
through,  and  I  will  say  whether  that  man  takes  his  oath  or  not, 
because  there  are  things  in  there  that  were  not  said  at  that  meeting, 
and  there  are  not  things  in  there  that  were  said  at  that  meeting. 

That  is  the  kind  of  a  proposition  we  are  up  against. 

In  this  fight  we  have  acted  honorably  all  the  way  through; 
we  have  acted  honorably  in  every  conceivable  way  and  on  every 
point,  and  he  cannot  deny  it.  But  how  has  he  acted  in  his  dealings 
with  us?    When  he  told  us  that  he  would  not  sign  any  agreement, 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBUC  OFFICIALS  79 

he  also  promised  us  that  there  would  be  no  published  statement  of 
the  meeting. 

It  does  not  hurt  us  a  bit.  Our  conduct  has  been  honorable 
and  has  been  along  lines  that  will  be  approved  by  the  people  of 
this  city  and  of  this  community.  Our  men  have  acted  honorably 
and  squarely  and  uprightly  in  this  fight  all  the  way  through,  and 
yet  they  won't  give  us  one  thing. 

He  says,  "If  I  sign  this  agreement  it  will  mean  a  closed  shop. " 
Gentlemen,  he  is  fighting  a  closed  shop  and  he  has  got  a  closed 
shop  himself,  and  that  is  the  only  kind  of  a  shop  he  wants  to  work 
in.  He  believes  in  a  closed  shop  himself,  and  yet  he  won't  give 
us  a  written  agreement  that  we  can  take  back  to  the  men.  We 
asked  him  for  something  that  we  could  take  back  to  the  men  so 
that  we  could  say  to  them,  "  Here  is  something  that  Mr.  Wattles 
has  given  under  his  own  signature;  he  has  authorized  us  to  submit 
this  to  you. "  But  he  would  not  do  it.  And  when  we  went  before 
these  men  there  was  nothing^  for  them  to  act  upon;  nothing  for 
them  to  accept  or  reject.  There  was  nothing  for  them  to  do.  He 
said  he  was  prepared  for  a  strike,  and  there  was  nothing  for  them 
to  do  but  strike.  They  had  nothing  they  could  depend  upon; 
nothing  they  could  present  to  the  under  officials  to  show  what  had 
been  agreed  to  by  Mr.  Wattles. 

I  am  sorry  for  the  citizens  of  this  town,  and  I  am  sorry  that 
they  are  in  such  a  predicament  today,  but  we  have  acted  honorably 
and  used  every  means  in  our  power  to  avert  this  condition.  We 
have  done  everything  we  could  do  as  honorable  men  to  try  to  avert 
this  situation,  but  the  company  won't  meet  us  half  way,  they  won't 
do  anything  at  all.  We  could  not  get  even  one  little  word  from 
this  corporation  to  take  back  to  the  men  and  say,  "  Here  is  some 
concession  that  the  company  will  make  to  us;"  so  that  we  could 
take  it  up  and  try  to  avert  this  strike. 

God  knows  there  is  none  of  us  wanted  this  strike.  No  one 
wanted  it  less  than  I.  I  have  a  wife  and  three  children,  and  I  have 
nothing  except  that  which  I  can  obtain  as  a  result  of  my  labor. 

I  have  a  wife  and  three  children  at  stake  right  now.  I  have 
nothing,  only  my  own  work.  I  have  worked  for  this  company  for 
twenty  years.  I  have  my  home,  but  I  never  earned  it  out  of  the 
street  railway  company.  Never.  I  had  to  earn  it  on  the  outside. 
When  I  was  laid  up  for  weeks  and  weeks,  they  refused  to  pay  my 
grocery  bills  and  coal  bills.  I  was  an  old  employe,  and  they  did 
not  come  forward  and  say  "We  will  help  you  out. "  No.  They  never 
came  near  me,  none  of  them.  You  men  came  forward  and  done 
it,  but  not  the  company. 

•  Gentlemen,  I  thank  you.  I  am  sorry  I  have  taken  up  so 
much  of  your  time,  but  I  have  tried  to  put  the  situation  before  you 
in  my  poor  way  as  best  I  could.  I  never  had  the  advantage  of 
education.  I  have  worked  since  I  was  seven  years  old.  My  father 
died  when  I  was  thirteen.     I  have  presented  this  in  my  poor,  hum- 


80  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

ble  way.  What  little  I  have  had  of  education  I  have  obtained 
from  books.  I  hope  you  will  excuse  me  for  any  bad  breaks  I  may 
have  made.     That  is  all  I  have  to  say  just  now. 

Chairman  Burmester:  Any  other  member  of  the  committee 
wish  to  be  heard?    Mr.  Turney. 

Mr.  Wattles:  Are  you  in  the  employ  of  the  Omaha  Street 
Railway  company? 

Mr.  Turney:  I  went  through  the  extra  list.  I  have  been 
in  the  employ  of  the  company  fourteen  months.  We  have  very 
hard  work  on  this  extra  list.  We  are  jumped  from  one  line  to 
another.  I  have  worked  the  South  Omaha  line  one  part  of 
the  day  and  the  Hanscom  Park  line  the  other.  I  work  at  all 
hours,  and  have  to  be  on  hand  eighteen  hours  of  the  day,  and  prob- 
ably get  four  hours'  work  some  days  and  more  or  less  on  others. 
It  depends  on  the  lines  that  are  running  and  the  people  that  have 
to  be  handled.  Men  that  work  for  the  company  don't  want  to 
kick  or  to  be  called  kickers  or  agitators,  because  that  will  get  them 
into  trouble.  I  got  sick  one  day  on  the  Hanscom  Park  hne  and 
I  telephoned  in  to  send  a  man  out  to  relieve  me,  and  the  superin- 
tendent got  angry  and  he  says,  "I  cannot  do  anything  for  you, 
we  haven't  got  any  men  here;"  and  I  says,  "I  am  not  able  to 
make  another  trip;"  and  he  says,  "Go  ahead  and  try  it."  I 
telephoned  again  from  the  other  end  of  the  Une  and  I  says,  "  You 
will  have  to  get  a  man  to  relieve  me;"  and  so  when  I  got  back  he 
had  hustled  around  and  got  a  man  some  way,  and  I  suppose  he 
could  have  got  him  before.  I  don't  think  any  foreman  should 
keep  a  man  on  when  he  is  sick.     That  is  all  I  have  got  to  say. 

Councilman  Kugel:  Will  you  explain  what  is  meant  by 
swing  runs? 

Mr.  Turney:  On  a  swing  run  you  get  one  trip  on  one  run 
say  at  eleven  o'clock  or  noon,  and  then  you  show  up  at  five  in  the 
evening  and  work  until  the  last  train  along  until  twelve  o'clock 
at  night.  Then  there  is  another  swing  run  where  you  go  to  work 
at  three  different  times  in  the  day,  and  your  different  runs  may 
be  three  to  five  miles  apart.  It  works  a  hardship  on  the  boys  who 
have  the  swing  runs,  because  they  have  to  put  in  very  long  hours 
and  do  not  get  very  much  for  it. 

Councilman  Kugel:  How  many  hours  out  of  the  twenty- 
four  do  you  put  in  on  swing  runs? 

Mr.  Turney:     It  requires  sixteen  hours  on  some  of  them. 

Mr.  Wattles  :  How  many  of  such  runs  are  there  that  require 
sixteen  hours? 

Mr.  Turney:     There  are  quite  a  number  of  them. 

Mr.  Wattles:     How  many?     Do  you  know? 

Mr.  Turney:  I  understand  there  are  four  or  five  out  of  one 
barn. 

Mr.  Wattles:     What  barn  is  that? 

Mr.  Turney:     Ames  avenue,  24th  and  Ames. 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  81 

Councilman  Kugel:    Do  you  work  on  the  bam  time? 

Mr.  Turney:  No,  From  the  time  they  take  the  train  out 
on  the  road  until  they  get  back  to  the  barn. 

Councilman  Kugel:  What  is  the  pay?  How  long  do  they 
work  before  they  get  the  maximum  rate? 

Mr.  Turney  :  When  they  start  in  on  the  extra  list  they  get 
twenty-one  cents  an  hour,  and  they  run  up  to  twenty-three  cents 
an  hour,  and  in  the  ninth  year  they  get  twenty-six  cents  an  hour; 
and  there  is  two  years  of  this  nine  that  you  don't  get  any  raise. 

Mr.  Wattles  :  No.  I  beg  your  pardon.  You  are  raised  every 
year  until  you  get  twenty-five. 

Mr.  Turney:  And  then  it  jumps  to  twenty-six  in  the  ninth 
year.  You  start  in  at  twenty-one  cents  and  in  the  ninth  year 
you  get  twenty-six  cents  an  hour.  On  some  of  those  swing  runs 
you  go  to  work  three  different  times  in  the  day;  and  on  some  of 
the  runs  you  work  eight  hours  and  nine  hours  for  the  thirty  days 
in  the  month. 

Councilman  Kugel:  Do  they  get  any  pay  when  they  are 
being  broken  in? 

Mr.  Turney:  No,  sir;  there  is  fourteen  days  without  pay. 
I  have  been  breaking  in  new  men  right  along.  I  broke  in  eight 
or  ten  this  season. 

Councilman  Kugel:  How  about  men  who  have  had  experi- 
ence in  other  cities?  Motormen  and  conductors  that  have  been 
on  street  railways  before? 

Mr.  Turney:  Yes,  those  that  come  from  other  towns, — my 
orders  are  to  break  them  in  for  fourteen  days. 

Mr.  Wattles:     Experienced  motormen? 

Mr.  Turney:  I  don't  know  whether  they  are  experienced 
or  not.  I  break  them  in  until  they  are  thoroughly  broke  in.  My 
orders  are  to  break  them  in  for  fourteen  days. 

Mr.  Wattles:     Until  they  know  how  to  nm  the  cars? 

Mr.  Turney  :  Until  they  can  handle  the  cars,  so  that  people 
won't  get  hurt  or  anything  like  that.  Thoroughly  break  them  in. 
I  believe  that  is  all  I  have  to  say. 

Councilman  Berka:  Were  you  one  of  the  committee  that 
waited  on  the  officials  of  the  street  railway  company  previous  to 
the  strike? 

Mr.  Turney:     No,  sir,  I  was  not  on  that  committee. 

Councilman  Sheldon:  Mr.  Lenahan,  did  you  wait  upon 
Mr.  Wattles? 

Mr.  Lenahan:     Yes,  sir. 

Councilman  Sheldon:  Did  you  prepare  a  schedule  of 
wages  to  be  presented  to  Mr.  Wattles,  and  was  it  presented  to  Mr. 
Wattles  before  the  strike  was  inaugurated? 

Mr.  Lenahan:     Yes,  sir. 

Councilman  Sheldon:  You  may  state  to  the  mayor  and 
council  what  increase  there  was  in  this  schedule  from  the  old 


82  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

schedule  that  has  been  in  force  on  the  street  railway.  I  think 
we  should  have  a  statement  from  the  street  car  men  of  the  exact 
demands  that  they  are  making  from  the  street  car  company.  We 
should  have  a  succinct  statement  so  that  we  can  know  exactly 
the  points  of  difference  in  this  controversy. 

Councilman  Bridges:  Mr.  President,  before  we  proceed 
to  get  that  information,  I  would  like  to  ask  a  question  or  two  of 
the  railway  employes.  These  men  are  here  representing  the  street 
railway  employes,  and  in  their  statement  they  say  they  are  anxious 
to  have  a  settlement.  Now,  there  isn't  any  use  going  through  all 
this  routine  business  unless  we  know  there  is  a  chance  of  accom- 
plishing something.  It  is  unnecessary  to  take  up  any  time  unless 
we  can  accomplish  something.  Now,  I  would  like  to  ask  this 
committee  if  they  are  in  a  position  to  say  whether  their  organiza- 
tion would  be  willing  to  arbitrate  this  question.  Would  the  street 
railway  company  and  street  railway  employes  be  willing  to  submit 
this  question  for  settlement  to  some  disinterested  parties?  Would 
they  be  willing  to  accept  a  proposition  of  that  kind? 

Mr.  Lear:  I  will  state  to  the  city  council,  as  chairman  of 
this  committee,  that  we  would  favor  that  proposition.  I  omitted 
that  in  my  talk. 

Councilman  Bridges:  Are  you  willing  to  accept  a  proposi- 
tion of  that  kind? 

Mr.  Lear:     Yes,  sir. 

Councilman  Bridges:  Now,  I  think  the  proper  thing  would 
be  to  find  out  from  Mr.  Wattles  whether  his  side  will  agree  to  a 
proposition  of  that  kind.  If  they  cannot  agree  to  that  we  are 
only  wasting  time  here  by  talking.  The  proper  way  to  do  is  to 
find  out  if  these  people  can  agree  on  that  and  end  all  this  discus- 
sion, and  then  we  will  know  whether  there  is  anything  that  can 
be  settled  or  not.  I  would  like  to  know  from  Mr.  Wattles  whether 
his  company  is  prepared  to  accept  a  proposition  of  that  kind. 

Mr.  Wattles:  When  you  are  prepared,  gentlemen,  I  am 
ready  to  present  the  situation  in  about  the  same  manner  that  the 
other  side  has  to  you,  and  I  will  answer  that  question  during  the 
progress  of  my  talk. 

Councilman  Berka:    Has  the  committee  got  through? 

Councilman  Bridges:  I  was  trying  to  eliminate  a  lot  of 
argument  to  see  if  we  could  not  settle  some  of  these  matters. 

Chairman  Burmester:     We  will  hear  from  Mr.  Wattles. 

Mr.  Wattles:  Gentlemen:  This  is  a  critical  time.  It  is 
not  a  time  for  fiery  or  exciting  statements  to  be  made  by  any  one, 
and  I  am  not  here  to  make  any  such  statements  in  so  far  as  the 
street  railway  company  is  concerned.  All  I  have  asked  and  all 
I  do  ask  is  that  the  facts  be  placed  before  this  community.  I  am 
willing  and  ready  to  appear  before  any  body  of  any  kind,  at  any 
time,  and  state  the  facts  as  they  exist  insofar  as  the  street  railway 
part  of  this  matter  is  concerned.     And  I  appear,  at  your  command. 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  83 

before  you  here  today,  the  honorable  members  of  this  council 
and  the  mayor  of  the  city,  whose  commands  I  am  always  ready  to 
obey.  I  appear  before  you  to  state  the  situation,  as  near  as  I 
can,  in  a  calm  and  dispassionate  manner,  in  order  that  we  may  get 
at  the  real  facts.  There  is  always  so  much  froth  and  so  much  talk, 
and  so  many  wild  statements  made  of  things  that  happened  that 
never  occurred,  in  times  of  excitement,  that  we  are  liable  to  get 
led  away  from  what  the  real  facts  and  the  real  situation  is. 

Now,  it  is  true  that  I  called  a  stenographer  into  the  only 
meeting  that  I  ever  had  with  the  union  committee  alone,  where 
we  sat  down  together  to  talk  things  over,  and  I  was  very  careful 
to  get  the  same  stenographer  that  this  same  committee  had  brought 
to  my  office — 

Mr.  Lear:  I  beg  your  pardon.  It  was  not  the  same  com- 
mittee. 

Mr.  Wattles:  Well,  it  was  the  committee  of  the  union — ^it 
was  the  committee  of  the  same  union,  two  and  a  half  years  ago, 
when  we  had  some  controversy  and  talk  of  strike.  We  were  to 
have  a  meeting  at  my  office  at  which  I  was  to  state  the  company's 
side  of  this  case,  and  when  the  committee  came  in  they  said,  "  In 
order  that  we  may  have  a  record  of  this  for  future  reference  we 
have  brought  a  stenographer  here  to  take  down  what  is  saM  and 
we  ask  your  permission  that  he  should  come  into  the  room  and 
take  down  all  that  is  said. "  I  readily  granted  that  request,  and 
the  stenographer  took  down  those  proceedings.  So  that  in  inviting 
the  stenographer  to  take  down  the  things  that  happened  in  my 
office,  I  secured  the  same  stenographer  that  they  brought  to  my 
office  two  years  and  a  half  before  that,  and  I  asked  that  he  be 
admitted  to  take  down  exactly,  word  for  word,  everything  that 
was  said.  I  had  no  idea  when  this  was  done  that  there  ever 
would  be  any  occasion  to  publish  it.  I  had  no  idea  that  there 
ever  would  be  any  dispute  over  what  really  was  said  or  the  real 
gist  of  it. 

But  immediately  after  the  meeting  broke  up,  word  came  to  me, 
from  different  sources,  of  things  that  I  had  said  in  the  meeting 
that  I  never  dreamed  of  saying,  and  then  I  began  to  realize  how 
important  it  was — how  fortunate  it  was  for  both  sides  of  this 
controversy  that  every  word  was  taken  down  exactly  as  spoken. 
So  I  said,  "Now,  these  men  have  a  perfect  right  to  have  what  they 
said  at  this  important  meeting,  that  led  up  to  the  present  condi- 
tion, placed  before  this  community.  They  have  a  perfect  right 
that  this  community  shall  judge  as  to  the  justice  of  their  cause, 
and  the  fairness  or  unfairness  of  the  manner  in  which  their  requests 
were  received."  And  so — at  considerable  expense,  I  will  admit, — 
I  pubUshed  in  yesterday's  papers  a  sworn  statement,  by  the 
stenographer — the  same  stenographer  that  the  union  brought 
to  my  office  two  and  a  half  years  ago — of  exactly  what  was  said. 
Any  of  you  can  read  that  proceeding,  and  I  invite  you  to  read  it. 


84  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

These  men  have  come  before  you  here  this  morning,  and  have 
made,  in  rather  heated  manner,  a  good  many  wild  and  untruthful 
statements  as  to  what  was  said  there. 

Mr.  Lear:  I  take  exceptions,  gentlemen,  to  the  statement 
that  I  have  made  any  untruthful  statements  here.  I  have  not 
been  untruthful  in  any  statement  that  I  have  made  here  this 
morning.  I  take  exception  to  any  man  getting  up  here  and  viUfy- 
ing  me  and  saying  that  I  made  any  untruthful  statement. 

Councilman  Berk  a:     One  person  at  a  time,  please. 

Mr.  Wattles  :  It  is  fortunate  that  the  proof  is  at  hand  and 
is  available  to  every  one  who  can  read.  You  have  heard  the  state- 
ments that  have  been  made  here — made  by  a  man  who  says  that 
he  is  not  versed  in  public  speaking,  and  we  will  grant  him  all  the 
leniency  possible  in  that  regard — we  will  grant  him  the  further 
leniency  that  he  is  laboring  under  extreme  excitement — but 
fortunately  for  me,  and  fortunately  for  you,  and  fortunately  for 
this  community,  what  was  said  at  that  meeting  is  in  cold  print — 
and  read  it  over  is  all  I  ask  of  you.  Compare  it  with  what  has 
been  said  here  today  as  to  what  did  happen  there,  and  see  whether 
or  not  the  statements  made  here  are  correct. 

Now,  I  will  withdraw  the  statement  that  the  gentleman 
objects  to.  I  was  thinking  or  trying  to  think  of  another  word. 
I  did  not  want  to  say  untruthful.  I  do  not  want  to  be  disrespect- 
ful to  these  men  or  to  any  other  man  in  this  world.  I  have  tried 
to  treat  this  situation  fairly  and  honestly,  and  treat  every  man 
concerned  in  it  with  due  and  proper  respect  and  consideration, 
and  that  shall  be  my  position  to  the  end  of  it. 

It  has  been  said,  for  instance,  that  I  said,  "these  city  hall 
grafters"  imposed  a  tax  of  sixty  thousand  dollars  on  this  company, 
and  that  I  called  you  men  here  "hounds,"  and  that  I  said  other 
disrespectful  things. 

I  ask  you,  gentlemen,  to  refer  to  the  record.  I  will  stand  by 
what  I  said.     Let  that  say  whether  or  not  I  said  those  things. 

Councilman  Berka:  Did  you,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  state 
that? 

Mr.  Wattles:     I  did  not. 

Councilman  Berka  :    That  is  all  I  want  to  know. 

Mr.  Wattles:  I  never  said  a  disrespectful  word  of  the  city 
authorities  of  this  city,  or  of  the  present  council  or  of  any  other 
council,  and,  fortunately,  on  this  critical  and  important  occasion 
I  have  the  proof. 

All  that  is  only  a  matter  of  introduction  and  this  trouble  has 
nothing  to  do  with  it;  these  Uttle  by-plays  of  what  men  said  or 
did  not  say,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing  which  comes  along  in  times 
of  excitement,  we  can  cast  aside;  it  is  not  material.  It  has  created 
no  feeling  on  my  part  and  it  should  not  on  the  part  of  any  one  else. 

Let  us  see  what  the  real  question  is  that  has  caused  these 
differences,  and  what  the  real  situation  is  now. 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  85 

These  men  came  before  the  board  of  directors  of  the  street 
railway  company,  and  there  were  some  other  men  in  our  employ 
present  there,  and  both  sides  expressed  themselves  as  to  certain 
complaints  that  they  had,  and  certain  matters  that  they  wanted 
to  have  rectified.  They  were  treated  courteously,  and  they  went 
away,  apparently  in  a  good,  friendly  frame  of  mind.  No  business 
was  really  discussed  at  that  meeting,  and  the  position  of  the  com- 
pany was  only  tentatively  outUned.  That  meeting  was  held  on 
the  second  day  of  September.  On  the  15th  day  of  September, 
or  some  time  before  the  15th  day  of  September,  I  was  asked  to 
receive  this  committee  from  the  union  at  my  office. 

I  readily  granted  this  request,  and  I  always  have  granted 
every  request  of  every  kind  and  character  for  a  meeting  or  a  hear- 
ing on  the  part  of  any  man  in  the  employ  of  this  company,  or  any 
committee  representing  any  of  the  men  in  the  employ  of  this  com- 
pany, and  they  have  always  had  free  access  to  my  door.  When 
these  men  came  in — they  came  one  time  before  that — or  a  part 
of  them — they  told  me  some  of  these  things  that  were  coming  up. 
I  said,  "Boys,  why  don't  you  come  up  here  and  tell  me  about  these 
things?  Why  haven't  you  been  in  here?  For  two  years  and  a  half 
I  have  not  seen  you  here.  You  have  not  been  in  here  to  tell  me 
that  there  was  anything  wrong  with  the  runs;  that  there  was  any- 
thing wrong  with  the  wages;  that  there  was  any  real  grievance 
that  you  had  against  this  company  that  you  wanted  to  discuss. " 
But  they  came  in  at  this  time,  the  only  time  for  two  years  and  a 
half  that  a  committee  of  the  union  has  called  on  me,  to  discuss 
the  signing  of  a  contract  which  they  then  and  there  presented, 
and  which  is  not  the  contract  that  has  been  published  in  the  papers. 
I  hold  a  copy  of  it  in  my  hands.  This  is  a  draft  of  an  agreement 
between  the  street  railway  company  and  the  union,  and  it  recites 
a  number  of  matters  and  the  relations  and  rules  that  shall  exist 
for  two  years. 

Mr.  Lear:  Mr.  Wattles,  for  the  information  of  the  council, 
is  it  not  a  fact  that  you  were  presented  with  a  copy  of  that  agree- 
ment or  something  we  thought  might  meet  with  your  approval, 
before  this  controversy  had  arisen?  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  you 
received  a  copy  of  the  modified  demands  that  you  thought  would 
suit  you  better? 

Mr.  Wattles:     No. 

Mr.  Lear:  Isn't  it  a  fact  that  Mr.  Pratt  presented  them -to 
you  at  a  meeting  of  the  Business  Men's  Association? 

Mr.  Wattles:  Mr.  Pratt  had  a  memorandum  when  we  met 
him  before  the  Business  Men's  Association,  which  he  read  to  that 
body,  and  said  that  that  would  be  satisfactory  to  the  employes. 
That  is  the  memorandum  that  has  been  published  in  the  papers. 
It  does  not  differ  materially,  not  so  much  as  to  cause  any  matter 
of  great  controversy  when  we  simmer  it  all  down.    It  really  means 


86  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

about  the  same  as  the  contract  presented  to  us.  It  differs  in  a  few 
particulars,  but  a  few  important  particulars. 

We  discussed  that  matter  fully,  frankly  and  freely,  as  the 
record  of  the  discussion  will  show.  It  takes  two  full  pages  of  the 
newspaper  to  publish  all  that  was  said  by  these  men  and  by  myself 
on  that  most  important  occasion,  and  on  the  report  of  that  meeting 
between  these  gentlemen  and  myself  at  that  time,  which  they  took 
back  to  the  union,  this  strike  was  voted.  That  was  the  only  meet- 
ing I  ever  had  with  them  to  discuss  this  matter,  and  the  record  of 
it  is  before  you.  I  will  not  attempt  to  traverse  what  was  said 
or  what  was  not  said  on  that  occasion,  but  I  invite  you  all,  and  I 
invite  every  citizen  of  this  community,  to  read  that  record,  before 
you  decide  as  to  who  is  right  and  who  is  wrong.  I  stand  on  the 
record.     That  is  the  position  the  street  railway  company  has  taken. 

Now  let  me  strip  the  froth  from  this  fermentation,  and  get 
down  to  the  real  question  at  issue: 

It  has  been  said  that  this  company  is  treating  its  employes  in 
an  inhuman  manner;  that  if  the  society  for  the  prevention  of 
cruelty  to  animals  should  find  a  horse  treated  in  that  way  they 
would  prosecute  the  owner,  and  all  such  harsh  statements  have 
been  put  out  before  this  community  as  the  cause  of  the  strike. 
It  has  been  said  that  the  men  are  underpaid,  and  that  that  is  the 
cause  of  the  strike. 

It  is  not,  gentlemen.  That  is  not  the  cause  of  this  strike  at 
all.  Why?  I  appeal  to  the  record.  I  appeal  to  what  I  said  to 
these  men — to  what  I  have  always  said  to  our  employes.  I  have 
always  said  to  these  men — "Gentlemen,  I  do  not  believe  in  low 
wages.  I  am  in  favor  of  good  wages;  and  it  is  my  pride,  as  an 
officer  of  this  company,  to  have  you  men,  in  its  employ,  receive 
better  pay  than  any  other  men  in  any  other  city  in  the  United 
States,  where  anything  like  similar  conditions  prevail  as  do  in  this 
city."  And  it  was  a  matter  of  brag  with  me,  and  I  was  boasting 
about  it.  I  came  before  this  council  here,  when  we  had  some 
controversy,  and  I  boasted  to  you  of  the  fact  that  the  company 
treated  its  men  fine,  and  that  I  wanted  to  continue  that  treatment, 
and  that  I  wanted  even  to  add  an  increase  to  their  present  rate  of 
wages.  That  has  always  been  my  position.  When  these  men 
talked  to  me  about  wages,  what  did  I  say  to  them?  Read  the 
record!  "Why,"  I  said  to  them,  "We  will  do  the  very  best  we 
can  for  you.  We  are  doing  better  now  than  anybody  around  here. 
We  are  doing  better  than  any  city  of  the  country  of  our  size  and 
importance,  where  anything  like  the  present  conditions  prevail." 
And  I  showed  them  what  the  situation  was  in  other  cities.  That 
is  a  guide  to  a  certain  extent  as  to  whether  wages  are  high  or  low. 
We  cannot  say  that  we  are  going  to  pay  carpenters  in  Kansas  City 
ten  dollars  a  day,  and  in  Omaha  five  dollars  a  day  or  four  dollars 
a  day.  We  do  not  say  that  we  are  paying  bricklayers  in  Minne- 
apolis eight  dollars  a  day,  and  in  Omaha  six  dollars  a  day.    There 


,       INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  87 

is  a  general  wage  scale  in  all  lines  of  business,  that  prevails  through- 
out the  cities  of  the  country,  where  conditions  exist  similar  to  the 
conditions  in  our  city.  What  is  that  situation?  Why,  it  has  been 
placed  before  you  time  and  again  in  the  public  print.  I  will  tell 
you. 

How  about  Kansas  City,  our  main  competitor  at  the  south — 
about  twice  as  big  as  Omaha,  probably,  but  it  is  a  competitor  of 
this  city.  They  begin  at  18  cents  an  hour  for  the  first  year — we 
begin  at  21.  They  finally,  after  the  sixth  year,  reach  23  cents  an 
hour — the  sixth  year  we  are  paying  25,  and  the  ninth  year  we  go 
up  to  26.     We  are  three  cents  over  them. 

Let  us  look  at  some  of  our  other  competitors.  St.  Joseph 
is  right  here  under  our  nose.  The  last  census  shows  practically 
the  same  population  as  Omaha.  I  do  not  believe  they  have  it, 
but  the  census  figures  show  they  have.  St.  Joseph,  theJfirst  year, 
19  cents;  second  year,  20  cents,  third  year  21,  fourth  year  22, 
fifth  year  22,  and  the  sixth  year  and  thereafter  23.  They  begin 
two  cents  under  us  and  they  stop  three  cents  under  us. 

How  about  Des  Moines?  The  first  year  the  street  car  men  in 
Des  Moines  receive  19  cents;  the  sixth  year  they  get  up  to  24  cents 
— two  cents  under  us  all  the  way  through.  Let  us  go  up  to  St. 
Paul  and  Minneapolis — they  are  competitors  of  ours  and  a  little 
larger  than  we.  They  start  where  we  do,  at  21  cents  the  first  year, 
and  the  sixth  year  they  get  up  to  25  cents,  and  there  stop,  while 
we  go  on  a  cent  further.  Milwaukee,  in  our  territory  here,  pays 
19  cents  an  hour  the  first  year;  the  sixth  year  they  get  up  to  24 
cents  an  hour.     We  are  two  cents  over  Milwaukee. 

St.  Louis — a  good  deal  bigger  city  than  Omaha — let  us  see 
what  they  do.  The  first  year  they  pay  20  cents,  and  the  sixth 
year  they  get  to  25,  and  there  they  stop.  They  are  one  cent  under 
us  all  the  way  through. 

And  so  it  goes  all  through  the  list  of  cities  of  an5^hing  like  the 
importance  of  Omaha. 

Then,  take  such  cities  as  Boston — commencing  at  21  cents 
and  stopping  at  24.  Washington,  D.  C,  22^  cents  flat.  Phila- 
delphia, 22  cents  flat.  New  Orleans,  22^  cents  flat.  And  so  on 
through  the  list.  I  will  not  burden  you  with  it.  It  was  all  laid 
before  these  men,  the  rates  in  all  of  these  cities  in  the  country, 
and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  it  was  shown  clearly  that  Omaha 
is  paying  higher  wages  to  its  street  car  men  than  any  one  of  the 
competing  cities  of  the  country,  I  offered  to  meet  these  men 
fairly.  "  Why, "  I  said,  "  you  are  going  to  get  a  raise.  Don't  be  in 
a  hurry.  Don't  come  here  and  say,  'Unless  you  raise  my  pay 
before  tomorrow  morning  I  am  going  to  quit,  I  am  going  to  strike.' 
I  cannot  grant  it  under  that  sort  of  talk;  because  if  I  should  permit 
you  to  do  that  once,  next  year  it  would  come  up,  perhaps,  again ; 
and  we  would  have  the  whole  thing  to  go  over.  I  will  have  to 
meet  that  situation  some  time,  and  I  will  meet  it  right  now.     I  will 


88  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

not  do  that  under  pressure.  But  your  pay  will  be  raised;  there 
need  not  be  any  question  about  that." 

Now,  about  these  runs  that  we  hear  so  much  about — the  in- 
human treatment  of  the  men  by  the  company,  because  it  is  forcing 
them  into  these  swing  runs: 

Nobody  has  to  take  one  of  those  runs  who  don't  want  it,  gentle- 
men. All  the  runs  that  the  company  has  for  its  regular  men  are 
matters  of  choice.  They  have  the  pick.  They  can  take  a  run, 
or  let  it  alone  and  take  another.     Isn't  that  so? 

Mr.  Lear:     Yes. 

Mr.  Wattles  :  Runs  are  selected  according  to  seniority  of 
service.  The  old  men  have  the  right  to  the  best  runs,  and  the  young 
men  come  along  and  have  to  take  what  is  left. 

But  let  us  see  about  these  runs.  I  have  not  heard  anything 
about  these  runs  before,  except  years  ago  when  Mr.  Tucker  was 
alive,  when  some  of  the  street  car  boys  came  up  to  talk  about  the 
runs.  He  said,  "  Boys,  any  change  that  you  can  suggest  in  your 
runs  that  will  be  better  for  you,  or  will  make  it  easier  for  you,  that 
will  not  impair  the  service  of  the  company,  that  will  permit  us 
to  take  care  of  the  crowds  at  the  rush  hours,  I  will  adopt  in  a  min- 
ute. "     And  so  I  said  the  same  thing  to  these  men. 

Read  the  record. 

I  not  only  said  that,  I  said,  "  I  will  go  into  these  runs,  since 
you  have  mentioned  it.  I  have  not  heard  anything  about  it  before. 
Two  years  and  a  half  have  passed  by  since  I  have  seen  any  of  you 
men.  Why  haven't  you  come  here  and  told  me  your  runs  were 
wrong.     I  would  adjust  them  in  a  minute." 

This  gentleman  here  had  another  complaint:  He  said  he 
could  not  get  off  this  summer,  the  lines  were  so  busy,  and  we  did 
not  have  enough  extra  men  and  he  could  not  get  off.  I  said, '  'My 
friend,  you  do  not  have  to  strike  for  that;  why  didn't  you  let  me 
know  about  it;  I  would  get  you  off.  I  will  furnish  men  enough  to 
man  the  cars  of  this  company,  so  that  every  man  employed  by  it 
can  have  ample  time  to  get  off  and  rest.  We  do  not  want  any  mis- 
understanding about  those  things;  and  there  is  no  need  for  any 
board  of  arbitration  to  settle  them.  It  is  time  enough  for  you  to 
talk  about  arbitrating  questions  when  I  refuse  to  settle  them  for 
you." 

Those  questions  are  not  at  issue,  gentlemen.  Those  are  not 
the  questions  that  caused  this  strike.  That  is  not  the  reason  of 
this  strike.     Let  no  man  be  deceived. 

I  will  tell  you  the  cause  of  the  strike: 

About  a  month  ago,  a  stranger  came  to  Omaha.  He  put  up 
at  one  of  our  best  hotels.  Had  a  good  room  and  good  board,  so 
far  as  I  know,  good  cigars  and  good  whiskey.  I  do  not  say  that 
he  had  them.  But  he  was  well  dressed;  had  all  the  appearance  of 
a  gentleman.  He  went  among  these  laboring  men,  and,  according 
to  the  statement  of  one  of  the  officers  of  the  international  body 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  89 

before  the  Business  Men's  Association,  he  found  that  there  were 
twelve  members  of  the  union  at  that  time. 

Mr.  Lenahan:     That's  not  correct. 

Mr.  Wattles:  Well,  that  is  the  statement  that  was  made 
before  the  Business  Men's  Association.  There  were  twelve  mem- 
bers of  the  union,  when  Mr.  Commons  came  here  a  month  ago. 
Whether  that  is  correct  as  to  the  number  that  belonged  to  the 
union  at  that  time,  I  do  not  know,  but  that  is  the  statement  that 
was  made  before  the  Business  Men's  Association. 

But  he  went  among  these  men  and  said,  "  Men,  you  have  some 
grievances  here  that  ought  to  be  corrected;  this  company  is  not 
doing  by  you  what  it  ought  to  do;  now  I  come  before  you  preaching 
the  gospel  of  peace;  I  do  not  want  any  strike;  we  are  not  going  to 
have  any  strike." 

(If  he  had  come  here  and  said,  "  Boys,  we  are  going  to  have  a 
strike,"  they  would  probably  have  run  him  out  of  town  at  that 
time,  because  they  did  not  want  any  strike.) 

"We  are  not  going  to  have  any  strike,  but  there  are  some 
things  here  that  must  be  corrected.  If  you  will  follow  my  views 
and  let  me  lead  in  this  matter,  I  will  get  you  a  whole  lot  of  things 
that  you  do  not  have  now;  I  will  get  you  better  pay  and  get  you 
better  conditions;  I  will  get  a  signed  contract  between  you  and  this 
company,  where  you  can  force  this  company  to  do  what  you  want 
it  to  do,  not  only  now  but  in  the  future.  This  contract  will  only 
run  two  years,  but  we  must  have  that  contract;  that  is  the  thing 
we  must  have." 

And  he  preached  among  the  men  and  exhorted  among  them, 
and  they  held  frequent  meetings  down  here  at  the  Labor  Temple, 
and  they  aroused  a  good  deal  of  revival  and  a  good  deal  of  enthu- 
siasm, until  finally  some  wild  words  of  force  were  suggested. 

At  first,  when  he  came  here,  he  did  not  say  I  was  a  bad  man. 
The  men  would  not  have  stood  for  it.  There  are  too  many  of  them 
who  know  to  the  contrary.  There  are  too  many  of  them  who  have 
come  to  me  in  trouble,  and  have  never  been  turned  away  empty- 
handed;  there  are  too  many  of  them  who  have  been  justly  dis- 
charged by  the  officei*s  of  this  company  and  have  appealed  to  me, 
and  if  there  was  any  possible  excuse  or  reason  why  they  could  be 
reinstated,  the  rules  have  been  cast  aside  and  they  have  been  rein- 
stated in  their  positions.  The  men  of  this  company  are  not  my 
enemies;  at  least  they  were  not  a  month  ago;  they  were  my  friends. 

But  this  situation  was  stirred  up  in  this  community,  until  we 
approached  the  critical  time  of  the  coming  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  Then  another  man  appears  upon  the  scene,  from 
abroad  somewhere.  He  does  not  live  in  Omaha  and  has  no  interest 
here  whatever.  He  goes  before  these  men  and  he  tells  them, 
"You  go  up  to  the  president's  office  and  demand  his  signature 
on  that  contract,  and  if  he  don't  sign  it  you  tell  him  there  is  going 
to  be  a  strike."     This  man  I  did  not  meet  alone.     I  suppose. 


90  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

perhaps,  I  ought  to  have  met  him,  but  I  will  tell  you  the  reason  I 
did  not.  I  do  not  care  to  discuss  with  anybody  the  relations  be- 
tween myself,  or  the  corporation  I  represent,  and  the  men  who  are 
working  for  it,  except  with  the  men.  And  so  I  said,  "  I  do  not 
care  to  meet  this  man, "  and  I  did  not  meet  him  at  my  office.  But 
when  he  insisted  on  seeing  me,  I  said,  "All  right,  come  before  the 
executive  committee  of  the  Business  Men's  Association  where 
we  can  have  reputable  witnesses."  I  did  not  say,  although  it  was 
in  my  mind,  where  we  will  have  reputable  witnesses  as  to  what 
transpires  between  us,  and  I  will  talk  this  over  with  you. 

He  came  up  there.  He  said  to  the  business  men  there  assem- 
bled :  "  I  am  not  here  to  say  one  word  against  Mr.  Wattles.  He 
is  a  very  fine  gentleman  and  he  stands  high  among  the  men,"  and 
he  spoke  many  complimentary  words  regarding  me,  for  which  I 
thank  him.  "  But  I  am  up  here  to  tell  you  men  that  there  is  a 
serious  condition  on,  that  is  going  to  culminate,  probably  this 
afternoon,  in  trouble,  unless  it  is  met  in  some  way."  What  was 
said  and  done  by  him  there  before  that  committee  is  fortunately 
also  a  matter  of  record.  These  business  men  have  heard  some 
statements  made  as  to  what  was  said  and  done  there,  that  were 
not  just  exactly  correct,  and  they  have  put  out  a  signed  statement 
in  the  morning  paper  as  to  what  happened  there  before  that  com- 
mittee. 

What  did  happen?  Briefly:  He  told  of  these  grievances, 
of  this  trouble  about  these  swing  runs  and  inhuman  treatment 
and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  and  then  he  told  about  the  wages  and 
other  things;  and  then  he  told  about  the  company  discriminating 
against  its  union  men. 

I  got  up  and  said,  "  Gentlemen,  we  can  settle  this  here  in  a 
minute.  There  is  no  cause  for  a  strike  here.  We  can  settle  this 
whole  question  very  easily.  I  will  put  into  the  hands  of  every 
employe  a  signed  statement  that  will  say  that  this  company  will 
not  discriminate  either  for  or  against  its  union  or  non-union  men; 
and  in  the  matter  of  runs  a  new  schedule  will  be  put  out  that  will 
eliminate  any  cause  of  complaint  on  that  score;  and  we  will  increase 
the  pay  of  these  men  at  the  earliest  moment  practicable,  and  within 
a  short  time." 

I  told  our  men  that,  and  I  said  more.  I  said,  "Now,  men, 
when  we  come  to  the  next  increase  of  pay,  I  am  going  to  consult 
you.  I  want  to  know  whether  this  scale  is  too  wide  or  whether 
you  want  it  crowded  together,  and  I  am  going  to  act  a  good  deal 
on  what  the  great  bulk  of  our  employes  want  to  do  in  that  regard. " 

And  I  said  the  same  thing  before  the  Business  Men's  Associa- 
tion. I  said,  "We  will  settle  this  whole  thing.  I  will  put  out 
these  signed  statements,  and  then  if  I  do  not  keep  them,  or  if  this 
company  and  its  officers  do  not  keep  them,  then  it  is  time  for  you 
to  come  and  say,  "Let  us  arbitrate  and  see  whether  you  have  kept 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  91 

them  or  not;  or  let  us  fight,  if  necessary,  over  the  fact  of  whether 
you  have  kept  them  or  not." 

I  embodied  these  messages  of  peace  and  good  will  to  the  em- 
ployes in  a  letter  that  I  wrote  to  one  of  the  labor  union  men  of  the 
city,  and  which  Mr.  Pratt  had  and  read  before  that  committee. 
He  was  going  to  take  it  down,  as  he  said,  and  read  it  without  com- 
ment before  the  meeting  of  the  street  car  men,  who  were  in  session 
that  afternoon,  and  he  was  going  to  leave  it  to  those  men  to  say 
whether  or  not  that  was  satisfactory. 

Let  us  see  what  happened! 

He  went  out  of  the  room,  not  entirely  satisfied  with  the 
action  of  the  business  men's  committee,  because  they  had  then 
and  there  in  his  presence  unanimously  voted  to  approve  the  course 
of  the  street  railway  company. 

Now,  there  are  few  men,  even  under  the  most  extreme  excite- 
ment of  religious  fervor  or  fanaticism  of  any  sort  or  kind,  who  will 
go  out  and  tell  an  untruth.  While  these  men,  as  I  know,  are  pledged 
not  to  reveal  what  happens  down  here  in  these  meetings,  at  least 
a  half  dozen  of  them  have  told  me  that  this  man  came  down  before 
that  meeting  and,  instead  of  reading  this  letter  without  comment, 
and  letting  the  men  vote  quietly  and  peaceably  and  after  careful 
consideration  on  the  question  of  whether  they  would  strike  or 
not,  made  one  of  the  most  rabid  and  vehement  and  vindictive 
speeches  that  was  ever  made  in  the  city  of  Omaha,  in  which  he 
called  me  all  the  vile  names  that  he  could  lay  his  tongue  to. 

Mr.  Lenahan:     Never,  never,  never. 

Mr.  Wattles:  And  then  in  the  fever  of  the  excitement,  he 
asked  these  men  to  vote  whether  or  not  they  were  going  to  strike. 

Was  he  a  messenger  of  peace  or  was  he  a  messenger  of  war? 

He  is  the  man,  he  and  his  lieutenant  who  is  here  assisting  him, 
who  have  caused  this  strike. 

And  why  has  the  strike  been  called?  For  no  other  reason  on 
earth  than  that  this  company  refused  to  violate  its  solemn 
agreements  with  its  non-union  men,  of  whom  it  has  a  large  majority, 
even  today,  in  its  employ. 

Mr.  Lenahan:  Where  did  you  get  them,  if  that  is  a  fair 
proposition? 

Mr.  Wattles:  I  will  state  that  this  company  has  in  its 
employ  over  eleven  hundred  men,  and  about  three  hundred  of 
them  belong  to  the  union. 

Mr.  Lenahan:  Do  you  want  to  know  just  how  many  you 
have  got  out? 

Mr.  Wattles:  To  the  best  of  my  information.  I  want  to 
be  corrected  if  I  make  a  misstatement. 

There  are  more  than  that  many  men  out.  But  why  are  they 
out?  I  will  tell  you  why.  They  are  out  because  their  wives  have 
been  warned  that  if  they  go  to  work  their  lives  will  be  in  danger; 
and  these  wives  have  telephoned  to  me  and  appealed  to  me  to 


92  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

know  whether  their  husbands  are  going  to  lose  their  jobs  or  not, 
if  they  fail  to  go  to  work  against  such  warnings. 

We  did  not  sign  the  contract.  Why?  Because  when  the 
union  was  first  organized  here,  the  international  officer  who  came 
before  our  board  of  directors  and  asked  us  to  reinstate  the  men 
who  had  been  suspended  because  they  joined  it,  stated  to  us  posi- 
tively and  assured  us  in  language  of  which  we  have  a  copy,  that 
no  contract  would  either  then  or  at  any  future  time  be  required 
between  this  union  and  this  company;  that  the  purpose  and  object 
of  the  organization  of  this  union  here  was  to  promote  the  interests 
of  the  men. 

Our  non-union  men  came  before  us — old  men  in  the  employ 
of  this  company — men  who  have  worked  for  us  from  ten  to  thirty 
years — came  to  us  and  said,  "  Are  you  going  to  enter  into  a  con- 
tract with  this  union?  Are  you  going  to  recognize  this  union, 
and  thereby  either  force  us  out  of  your  employ  or  into  the  union, 
which  we  do  not  want  to  join?" 

And  we  said,  "No,  gentlemen,  that  is  all  arranged;  have  no 
fear  in  that  regard.  We  have  agreed  with  these  men  that  no  con- 
tract shall  be  required  of  us,  and  we  are  going  to  treat  them  just 
the  same  as  we  treat  you,  and  we  are  going  to  treat  you  just  the 
same  as  we  treat  them. " 

Two  years  and  a  half  ago  they  demanded  that  we  sign  a  simi- 
lar contract,  and  when  they  came  up  to  the  point  of  a  strike,  they 
asked  me  finally  if  I  would  go  before  three  leading  labor  union  men 
of  this  city  and  state  the  case  of  the  company.  I  said  I  would, 
although  I  would  not  be  bound  by  what  they  might  say,  because 
they  were  naturally  a  partisan  board;  they  were  leaders  in  the  union 
movement  here. 

I  stated  the  case  of  the  company,  and  what  was  the  finding? 
One  of  the  findings  reads,  "  That  we  find  that,  whereas,  when  the 
union  was  organized  an  agreement  was  made  between  the  company 
and  the  union  that  no  contract  would  be  required,  therefore  we 
recommend  that  you  withdraw  this  request  for  a  contract. " 

But  now  it  comes  back  again.  Why  does  it  come  back?  I 
will  tell  you  why  it  comes  back. 

There  is  not  a  labor  union  member  of  any  organization  in  this 
hall,  nor  an  employer  of  union  men  here,  who  does  not  know  what 
such  a  contract  means.  Of  course  we  know  what  it  means — sugar 
coat  it  as  you  will — make  it  easy  and  agreeable  to  take  at  the  first 
dose — but  it  means  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  unionizing 
of  this  road;  then  the  driving  out  of  the  employment  of  this  com- 
pany of  every  man  who  does  not  or  will  not  join  this  union.  That 
is  what  it  means,  and  every  labor  union  man  here  knows  that  that 
is  what  it  means,  and  that  that  is  the  purpose  and  object  of  this 
contract. 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  93 

They  have  tried  to  say  that  it  did  not  mean  that.  But  you 
cannot  fool  men  who  employ  union  labor  help,  nor  can  you  fool 
men  who  are  members  of  labor  union  organizations. 

Why  do  they  want  such  a  contract?  They  want  such  a  con- 
tract for  the  very  purpose  that  when  every  man  who  belongs  to 
that  union  and  who  is  working  for  this  company  has  joined  it,  they 
can  go  before  the  board  of  directors  at  their  next  meeting  and  say: 
"Here  is  a  new  contract  now;  you  sign  that,  or  every  wheel  that 
you  have  in  the  city  of  Omaha  will  stop  at  twelve  o'clock  tonight." 
And  what  are  men  to  do  with  their  hands  crossed  and  tied  in  that 
fashion?  They  must  submit  to  any  sort  or  kind  of  demand  that 
may  be  made  by  any  agitator  who  comes  here,  with  no  knowledge 
whatever  of  local  conditions. 

And  that  is  the  reason  we  did  not  sign  the  contract — because 
we  owe  an  obligation,  gentlemen,  to  this  community.  This  thing 
simmers  right  down  to  this  one  point:  The  street  railway  com- 
pany owes  the  people  of  this  community  a  service — a  continual 
service.  The  city  authorities  of  this  city,  and  the  authorities  of 
this  county  and  state  owe  this  corporation  not  only  protection 
of  its  property  but  of  its  employes.  That  is  the  relation  that 
exists  between  you,  gentlemen,  and  you,  Mr.  Mayor,  and  this 
company. 

This  council  has  no  right  to  convene  here — when  you  get  down 
to  legal  rights — and  say  this  or  that  or  the  other  thing  regarding 
this  strike.  It  can  only  say  the  things  that  come  within  the 
province  of  this  council  to  say. 

I  am  glad  to  appear  before  you  here.  I  am  glad  to  have  you 
and  everybody  else  understand  the  situation,  if  I  can  make  it 
plain — and  I  am  here  to  make  it  plain. 

What  is  the  situation  now? 

These  men,  some  three  hundred  of  them;  without  a  moment's 
warning,  without  a  day's  notice;  a  few  days  before  the  President 
of  the  United  States  was  to  be  received  as  the  guest  of  this  city; 
quit  the  employ  of  this  company.  They  had  a  perfect  right  to  do 
so,  and  we  do  not  challenge  that  right  in  any  way.  It  would  have 
been  a  good  deal  better,  I  will  admit,  if  they  had  come  to  me  and 
said,  "Now,  we  are  not  satisfied;  this  is  not  satisfactory  to  us, 
this  arrangement  that  you  propose,  but  the  President  is  coming 
here  next  Tuesday  and  we  have  the  Ak-Sar-Ben  coming  on,  and 
it  will  inconvenience  a  lot  of  people  that  we  do  not  want  to  incon- 
venience and  think  there  is  no  necessity  of  inconveniencing  at  this 
critical  time;  and  we  will  let  this  dispute  rest  where  it  is  at  the  pres- 
ent moment,  and  we  will  take  it  up  when  these  things  have  passed 
by  and  we  will  talk  about  it  some  more;  and  we  will  see  if  we 
cannot  get  some  ground  where  we  can  both  stand. " 

That,  it  seems  to  me,  gentlemen,  would  have  been  the  honor- 
able way  for  these  men  to  have  treated  the  company  by  which 
they  have  been  employed,  some  of  them  for  many  years. 


9i  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

But,  no,  that  does  not  suit  the  men  who  are  guiding  the  des- 
tinies of  these  good  workmen.  They  said,  "Now  is  the  critical 
time,  right  at  this  moment,  to  make  them  all  the  inconvenience 
possible;  stir  up  all  the  feeling  over  this  thing  possible,  and  then 
you  will  win  so  much  the  sooner. " 

So  I  will  admit,  and  the  record  shows,  that  when  these  men 
talked  to  me  about  forcing  this  situation,  when  they  said  to  me, 
"We  are  going  to  strike  unless  you  sign  that  contract,"  I  will  admit 
that  because  I  must  admit  it — the  record  is  printed — that  I  did 
say  to  these  men:  "Gentlemen,  we  have  tried  to  get  along  with 
the  situation  as  best  we  can.  We  have  promised  to  protect  you 
as  union  men  in  every  right  that  you  possess.  We  have  also  tried 
to  protect  the  non-union  men  who  work  for  this  company.  But 
if  you  precipitate  a  strike  on  this  company  and  on  this  community 
at  this  critical  time — if  you  leave  the  employ  of  this  company  at 
this  critical  time,  we  cannot  take  future  chances  of  just  such 
things  occurring  again — we  are  going  to  employ  from  that  time  on 
non-union  men  to  work  for  this  company.  We  cannot  be  forced 
into  this  situation  any  more.  It  is  not  fair  to  this  community  that 
we  should  place  ourselves  where  we  can  be  forced  into  such  a  situa- 
tion as  is  here  today — a  disgrace  to  this  community."  And  so 
they  were  warned.  They  laughed  about  it,  and  said,  "That  is 
all  right,"  and  that  perhaps  I  did  not  mean  it. 

Now  let  me  say  one  thing  on  that  score:  I  never  made  a 
promise  or  a  pledge  in  my  life  that  was  not  worth  one  hundred 
cents  on  the  dollar.  It  is  worth  that  this  year;  it  will  be  worth 
that  next  year,  and  it  will  be  worth  that  in  the  future. 

Mr.  Pratt  says  I  never  ought  to  have  made  that  agreement 
about  not  signing  a  contract,  and  now  I  ought  to  be  forced  to 
violate  that  agreement.  May  be  that  is  good,  honest  doctrine. 
It  is  not  my  way  of  doing  business.  He  says  that  a  verbal  agree- 
ment, in  law,  only  lasts  a  year  anyway.  My  verbal  agreements  do 
not  expire  with  the  old  year.  They  are  good  the  next  year  just 
the  same. 

While  this  is  a  critical  situation;  while  I  have  had  letters 
threatening  my  Ufe,  and  telephone  messages  warning  me  that  I 
am  a  spotted  man;  and  while  we  may  have  to  come  up,  gentlemen, 
to  some  such  tragedy  to  finally  settle  this  matter  right;  and  will 
have  to  unless  the  authorities  who  are  sworn  by  their  oaths  to  pre- 
serve law  and  order  in  this  community  do  their  duty — and  I  have 
faith  and  confidence  that  they  will  do  it — but  even  though  just 
that  tragedy  occur,  if  I  wake  up  on  the  other  shore  and  have  it 
to  think  all  through  eternity  that  I  did  not  violate  my  solemn 
obligation  to  the  men  in  my  employ,  it  will  be  a  happy  thought. 
How  much  better  than  to  have  the  stain  upon  me  during  all  my  life 
that  at  the  critical  stage,  at  a  time,  perhaps,  when  thousands  and 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  my  own  fortune  was  at  stake,  I  failed. 
I  do  not  want  that  memory,  and  it  never  will  be  my  memory. 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  95 

Now,  what  is  the  situation?  These  men  have  quit  our  employ. 
We  owe  an  obhgation  to  the  city.  We  have  tried  to  fulfill  it.  We 
have  brought  men  here  at  great  expense,  because  everything  must 
be  clone  quickly  and  the  time  was  short.  We  did  not  have  time 
to  wait,  we  had  to  get  men  at  any  price.  We  had  to  get  them  and 
bring  them  here  to  perform  the  service  that  these  men  have  said, 
by  their  acts,  that  they  no  longer  want  to  do.  And  we  have 
brought  men  here,  good  men.  Every  crime  that  is  committed  in 
the  city  will  be  laid  at  their  doors.     That  is  the  usual  procedure. 

These  men  say  there  will  be  no  rioting.  Oh,  no.  But  every 
time,  gentlemen,  that  there  is  a  parade  of  these  honest  workmen 
on  the  streets  of  Omaha,  like  there  was  last  Sunday,  it  breaks  up 
in  a  riot  and  in  bloodshed.  And  that  is  what  will  happen  in  the 
future.     You  can  depend  upon  it. 

I  have  never  been  accused  of  being  either  a  fool  or  a  man  who 
did  not  try  to  keep  posted  on  what  was  going  on.  I  know  what 
is  happening.  I  am  not  deceived.  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  state  the 
things  I  know.  But,  gentlemen,  the  men  who  do  commit  crimes 
in  this  community  must  answer  for  them  before  the  law. 

Now,  what  are  we  going  to  do?  We  are  running  the  cars  here. 
We  must  run  them.  Let  us  see  what  the  people  who  run  street 
cars  in  the  country  are  saying  to  me,  by  telegrams  and  by  letters 
by  the  bushel.     I  brought  a  few  samples — telegrams  even. 

"  Could  you  use  two  sober  and  experienced  motormen  perma- 
nently?    References." 

That  is  a  telegram  that  comes  from  Kansas  City,  giving  the 
address. 

Here  is  a  letter  from  a  gentleman  in  Council  Bluffs :  "  There 
is  one  of  your  old  conductors  (gives  his  name)  for  four  years  a  very 
efficient  conductor  left  this  city  and  went  east;  has  married  there 
and  wants  to  come  back  here  and  get  a  job.     Can  you  take  him?  " 

Another  man  writes  from  Kansas  City  that  he  would  like  to 
send  me  two  or  three  men.  "  Can  you  use  two  or  three  good  men? 
Wire." 

I  withhold  all  of  these  names.  You  can  look  them  over,  any 
of  you  who  want  to. 

"  Can  bring  fifty  experienced  men  five  hours  notice.  ,  Wire 
answer.     Springfield,  Illinois." 

Another  man  writes  a  letter  that  he  is  a  good  workingman; 
that  he  has  worked  on  the  street  cars  up  at  Sioux  City,  but  we  pay 
better  wages  down  here  and  he  wants  to  come  down  here  to  work; 
he  hears  we  need  men. 

"  St.  Louis,  Mo. :  I  herewith  apply  for  a  position  as  conductor 
on  your  Omaha  road.     I  am  thirty-six  years  old,  etc. " 

"Springfield,  Illinois:  Notice  by  the  paper  you  are  having 
a  strike;  I  am  twenty-two  years  old  and  want  a  position." 


96  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

"Chicago,  Illinois:  An  experienced  motorman  living  in 
Chicago  wants  to  know  if  he  can  get  a  permanent  position  and 
bring  along  references. " 

"Waterloo,  Iowa:  See  by  the  Chicago  papers  that  you  are 
sadly  in  need  of  men;  I  have  had  over  two  years  experience  in  street 
car  service;  am  thirty-four  years  old.  Am  getting  seventeen  cents 
an  hour  here  and  would  Uke  to  come  to  Omaha  and  work." 

IndianapoUs  same  way. 

There  will  be  no  trouble,  gentlemen,  in  filling  the  places  of 
all  the  men  who  live  in  Omaha  and  have  been  engaged  in  the  work 
here,  and  who  do  not  want  to  work  for  this  company.  If  they  do 
not  want  to  work  for  the  company  they  have  a  perfect  right  to  say 
so. 

Now  as  to  the  question  of  arbitration:  If  a  man  drives  out 
your  horse  and  buggy  for  you  in  the  morning,  just  as  you  are  getting 
down  to  business,  or  some  evening  just  as  you  are  going  out  to 
some  important  engagement;  and  just  as  you  are  getting  into  the 
buggy,  he  jumps  down  off  the  box  and  says,  "  Here,  I  have  written 
up  a  contract  that  I  want  you  to  sign,  about  my  future  employment; 
now,  if  you  don't  sign  that  contract  I  am  going  to  quit,  and  I  am 
going  to  quit  right  now,  and  cause  you  all  the  trouble  I  can;  not 
only  am  I  going  to  do  that,  but  I  am  going  to  go  out  and  try  to 
keep  any  other  man  from  taking  my  place  and  working  for  you." 

"Well,"  the  employer  says,  "all  right  now,  John;  you  are 
excited;  I  am  sorry  you  feel  that  way  about  it,  but  if  you  do,  I  guess 
you  better  quit;  I  guess  you  better  go. "  The  next  day  John  comes 
around  and  brings  a  friend,  and  says,  "Can't  we  fix  this  matter 
up  some  way?  Let  us  arbitrate  it?"  What  do  you  say,  or  what 
would  any  reasonable  man  say  under  those  circumstances?  He 
would  say,  "  Well,  really,  I  cannot  see  that  you  have  any  matter  to 
arbitrate  here.  You  quit.  You  inconvenienced  me  a  little  and 
you  threatened  me  some,  but  you  have  drawn  your  pay;  we  are 
all  square;  I  guess  we  need  not  talk  any  more  about  this,  and  I 
will  get  along  the  best  I  can. " 

Now,  that  is  not  the  position  this  company  is  going  to  take, 
gentlemen.  Do  not  misunderstand  me,  nor  get  a  wrong  impression 
from  what  I  say.  The  time  is  going  to  come  very  shortly  when  these 
letters  and  similar  letters  will  have  to  be  answered.  Before  that 
time  comes,  and  before  men  are  brought  here  to  permanently  fill 
the  places  of  those  men  who  have  been  in  our  employ,  due  notice 
will  be  given. 

It  is  probable  that  the  old  runs  of  many  of  these  men  have 
been  permanently  filled  today.  I  do  not  know.  The  seniority 
rule  of  this  company  is  in  force  just  the  same  when  there  is  a 
strike  as  when  there  is  not  one,  and  that  rule  is  that  the  employes 
of  this  company  have  choice  of  positions,  according  to  length  of 
service. 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  97 

But  we  are  going  to  be  fair.  We  have  tried  to  be  fair.  We 
have  tried  to  be  just.  And  I  appeal  to  the  people  of  this  com- 
munity and  to  the  city  council  of  Omaha  to  say  whether  or  not  we 
have  been  fair  and  just.  If  we  have  not,  we  must  lose  that  valua- 
ble asset — pubUc  sentiment  and  good  will. 

From  the  letters  and  the  messages  over  the  phone,  from  all 
parts  of  the  city,  I  know  that  we  have  behind  us  in  the  position 
that  we  have  taken,  the  support  of  the  people  of  this  community, 
regardless  of  sex  or  condition.  All  we  ask  of  the  city  officials  is 
to  give  us  the  full  and  due  protection  that  they  are  sworn  to  give 
us  by  their  oath  of  office,  and  we  will  proceed  with  the  operation 
of  the  street  car  system  in  Omaha;  and  at  the  same  time  we  will 
try  to  be  fair  and  we  will  try  to  be  just. 

Now,  gentlemen,  one  more  word,  and  I  am  done. 

This  is  not  a  time  for  political  seeking  of  advantage.  It  is 
no  time  to  work  or  talk  politics.  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  sit 
here  and  hear  this  question  discussed,  as  long  as  my  time  will 
permit — and  I  am  a  very  busy  man,  especially  these  days — by 
the  men  who  are  directly  interested  in  the  question  at  issue.  But 
I  am  not  going  to  remain  here  to  hear  outsiders,  who  have  come  here 
and  stirred  up  this  trouble,  tell  you  men  that  we  are  to  blame  for 
it. 

Gentlemen,  haven't  we  any  friends  left  among  the  labor  union 
leaders  of  the  city  of  Omaha?  Why,  some  of  our  brightest  and 
best  men  are  at  the  head  of  that  movement  here.  Who  are  they? 
Mr.  McCullough  of  the  Bee;  Mr.  Sturgis,  Mr.  Guye;  and  no  end  of 
good,  level-headed  labor-leaders  are  here,  perfectly  competent 
to  handle  any  situation  that  comes  up  in  this  community.  If 
they  had  handled  this  situation  there  never  would  have  been  any 
trouble. 

I  think  I  have  said  about  all  I  care  to  say  now. 

Councilman  Bridges  :  I  asked  Mr.  Wattles  a  question.  He 
said  he  would  answer  that  question  in  his  statement. 

Mr.  Wattles:     I  think  I  have. 

Councilman  Bridges:  Then  we  are  to  infer  from  your 
statement  that  you  would  not  arbitrate  this  question  under  any 
circumstances.  That  is  the  way  I  would  take  it  from  this  state- 
ment. Now,  if  that  is  the  case,  it  is  time  for  this  city  to  take  some 
action  to  see  if  there  is  not  some  way  by  which  the  people  can  be 
moved  from  one  part  of  the  city  to  another.  I  think  if  Mr.  Wattles' 
position  and  the  position  of  his  company  is  fair,  as  he  states  it  is — 
he  states  there  is  no  doubt  in  his  mind  but  what  he  is  right  in  every 
way,  shape  and  form — if  that  is  the  fact,  then  he  should  not  be 
afraid  to  arbitrate  this  question. 

Mr.  Pratt:  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen:  My  name  has 
been  freely  used  in  connection  with  this  situation,  and  inasmuch 
as  he  has  brought  me  into  it  I  would  like  to  have  an  opportunity 
to  answer  a  few  of  the  points  that  he  attempts  to  make. 


98  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

Councilman  McGovern:  This  meeting  is  neither  a  regular 
nor  a  special  meeting  of  the  council.  It  was  called  at  the  suggestion 
of  our  mayor  and  the  members  of  the  city  council,  so  that  they  could 
meet  a  committee  of  the  employes  of  the  street  railway  who  were 
called  in  here,  and  also  certain  representatives  of  the  street  rail- 
way company.  Now,  this  matter  is  for  discussion  between  both 
of  these  parties  at  this  meeting.  We  are  not  here  as  members  of 
the  city  council.  Sitting  as  a  city  council,  as  Mr.  Wattles  has  said, 
we  would  have  no  authority  to  take  up  a  matter  of  this  kind,  but 
the  council,  as  individuals,  have  authority  to  discuss  any  matter 
we  see  fit  to  discuss  in  a  meeting  of  this  character.  We  are  only 
here  as  citizens  of  Omaha,  and  I  think  that  these  committees  have 
all  they  can  do  to  handle  their  own  part  of  the  business  at  this 
time,  until  further  action  may  be  taken. 

Councilman  Bridges:  Mr.  President:  I  do  not  know  any- 
thing about  this  man  Scott  or  whatever  his  name  may  be;  I  have 
never  seen  him  before  today,  and  I  do  not  know  who  he  is  or  where 
he  came  from,  but  I  venture  to  say  that  he  came  here  at  the  request 
of  these  street  car  employes,  just  the  same  as  you  or  I  would  send 
to  New  York  or  some  other  place  and  get  a  man  as  our  attorney 
to  represent  us,  if  we  thought  he  had  the  abiUty  to  do  it.  If  we 
had  a  case  that  we  wanted  to  win,  we  would  get  the  best  talent  we 
could  procure  to  win  that  case.  And  there  is  no  question  in  my 
mind  but  that  these  street  car  men  have  sent  for  this  man  to  come 
here  and  help  them  handle  this  difficulty  for  them,  and  to  represent 
them.  Now,  they  had  a  difficulty  with  the  company  a  few  years 
ago  on  a  similar  proposition,  and  they  had  the  vice-president  of 
the  organization  here  at  that  time,  and  he  consulted  with  Mr. 
Wattles.  I  met  the  gentleman  while  he  was  here,  and  while  I  do 
not  remember  the  exact  circumstances  of  that  particular  case, 
I  know  that  the  street  car  men  continued  at  work  without  any 
change  so  far  as  the  public  knew.  If  there  were  any  changes  that 
went  into  effect  in  a  minor  way  it  was  not  known  to  the  public. 
Now,  if  these  people  sent  for  this  man  to  come  here  and  represent 
them,  this  man  whom  Mr.  Wattles  has  been  freely  roasting  during  all 
of  his  argument,  he  is  entitled  to  some  consideration;  and  he  may 
be  able  to  make  some  suggestion  by  which  this  difficulty  can  be 
settled,  and  the  public  not  have  to  walk  to  and  from  their  business 
without  transportation  of  any  kind;  and  I  think  it  is  no  more  than 
right  that  he  should  have  an  opportunity  to  say  a  few  words  in 
order  to  explain  his  position,  and  explain  why  he  is  here. 

Chairman  Burmester:  If  there  is  no  objection,  we  will 
hear  from  Mr.  Pratt. 

Mr.  Pratt:  I  will  try  to  make  my  remarks  just  as  briefly 
as  possible.  I  do  not  want  to  misquote  or  in  any  way  misrepresent 
Mr.  Wattles.  In  referring  to  the  request  from  his  men  about  this 
contract  that  was  presented  to  him,  he  says  that  the  men  took  their 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  99 

strike  vote  upon  the  original  proposition  that  was  submitted  to 
him.     That  is  not  true.     The  men  modified  their  proposition. 

I  want  to  say,  of  course,  that  when  I  came  to  this  city,  it  was 
at  the  request  of  the  street  car  men.  Our  international  officer, 
Mr.  Commons,  had  been  here  for  some  time,  andlt  looked  as  though 
they  were  going  to  be  unable  to  get  any  adjustment  from  this  com- 
pany, and  the  men  themselves  had  written  to  our  office  for  an 
international  representative  to  come  here.  President  Mahon 
asked  if  I  would  come  over  and  assist  in  trying  to  bring  about  an 
amicable  adjustment.  I  want  to  say  that  about  four  years  ago 
I  came  here  on  a  like  mission.  At  that  time  there  was  a  threatened 
strike  and  Mr.  Wattles  met  me,  after  the  committee  and  myself 
had  failed  to  reach  any  adjustment  and  the  men  were  ready  to 
strike  at  that  time,  and  I  met  him  in  the  bank  and  had  an  hour  or 
so  conference  with  him  and  he  made  some  promises  to  me.  I 
said,  "  Mr.  Wattles,  will  you  get  your  committee  of  your  employes 
together  and  make  these  same  promises  to  them?  If  you  will, 
I  will  recommend  to  the  men  that  they  do  not  permit  any  trouble 
to  occur  and  they  will  continue  at  work. " 

He  said  he  would.  And  he  did  meet  the  committee  of  his 
employes  and  he  made  them  the  same  promises,  and  that  settled 
the  matter  without  any  outside  interference  or  without  any  diffi- 
culty, and  that  was  brought  about  through  my  personal  efforts, 
and  I  think  Mr.  Wattles  will  admit  it,  and  I  assured  Mr.  Wattles 
when  I  came  here  that  my  mission  was  one  of  peace  and  I  referred 
him  to  his  own  associates  of  the  street  railway  world  in  this  country. 
Never  in  my  life  have  I  been  charged  with  inciting  a  strike,  but  I 
have  been  instrumental  in  bringing  about  many  amicable  adjust- 
ments where  strikes  were  threatened  and  the  question  referred 
to  the  union. 

Now  as  to  experience  or  knowledge  of  conditions: 

I  have  been  a  railroad  man  for  sixteen  years.  Six  years  I 
worked  on  the  cars  in  Columbus,  five  years  as  motorman  and 
one  as  conductor.  I  know  the  conditions  that  prevail  in  the 
operating  of  the  car  from  either  end.  I  know  the  conditions 
throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  I  think  I  am  as 
well  versed  in  those  conditions  as  Mr,  Wattles;  I  have  negotiated 
contracts  and  settlements  with  different  companies  in  various 
parts  of  the  country. 

Now  then,  if  Mr.  Wattles  wants  to  be  fair  and  the  situation  is 
as  he  says  it  is,  all  in  his  favor,  why  does  he  fear  arbitration? 

As  to  our  bringing  about  the  difficulty  at  the  present  time: 
I  want  to  say  that  the  men  were  ready  to  strike  when  I  came  here 
a  week  ago  Saturday,  and  I  have  told  them,  "  Not  yet. " 

Now,  let  us  see  what  was  said  then.  A  meeting  was  called 
of  the  men,  and  I  did  not  know  at  that  time  that  the  Eagles'  con- 
vention was  coming  to  this  city,  and  we  did  not  want  to  do  anything 
•  to  mar  their  pleasure  and  their  entertainment  in  the  city  of  Omaha; 


100  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

and  I  not  only  got  a  statement  from  Mr.  Commons  and  from  the 
committee,  but  I  wanted  to  hear  the  men  direct,  and  a  meeting 
was  called  for  Monday.  In  that  meeting  I  told  the  men  I  was  not 
there  to  talk,  but  that  I  was  there  to  listen  to  them,  and  I  took  a 
chair  and  sat  down  in  the  chair  and  I  asked  them  to  tell  me  just 
what  they  wanted  me  to  do  and  how  far  they  wanted  me  to  go.  I 
positively  refused  to  talk  to  them,  or  to  advise  them  one  way  or 
the  other,  because  if  I  did  Mr.  Wattles  or  the  company  would  make 
a  claim  that  I  was  here  inciting  trouble,  and  we  have  a  signed  state- 
ment from  all  of  the  men  who  attended  the  meeting  as  to  what 
took  place  there.  The  men  themselves,  one  after  another,  without 
any  exception,  got  up,  and  in  a  determined  way  expressed  them- 
selves. They  said,  "For  seven  years  we  have  tried  to  maintain  an 
organization  here  for  our  protection.  Year  after  year  these  troubles 
come  up  and  we  have  tried  to  get  some  adjustment,  and  when  an 
international  officer  is  here  things  are  smoothed  over  temporarily, 
and  as  soon  as  you  are  gone  their  promise  is  violated  and  we  get 
no  result,  and  during  the  past  year  out  of  a  little  over  six  hundred 
employes  there  was  456  men  discharged  or  forced  to  resign" — those 
are  the  best  figures  I  have  been  able  to  obtain  regarding  their 
employes. 

Now,  it  is  true  that  the  organization  has  gone  down  several 
times.  When  I  came  here  one  year  ago  it  had  been  practically 
wiped  out  of  existence,  until  there  was  only  a  handful  of  men  up 
there  in  the  meeting.  Why?  Because  of  intimidation,  because 
of  a  marked  preference  for  non-union  men,  because  of  discrimina- 
tion. 

We  were  successful  in  getting  them  together  again  for  their 
protection  and  to  try  to  be  relieved  from  these  conditions. 

Now  then,  if  Mr.  Wattles  says  that  he  ordered  Mr.  Nash  to 
abolish  all  these  runs  a  year  ago,  why  is  it  that  seven  years  have 
gone  by  and  he  has  not  changed  them. 

He  is  an  experienced  railroad  man.  He  gets  up  here  and  he 
makes  some  very  nice  promises.  He  made  several  to  me  four  years 
ago,  but  they  have  not  been  carried  out. 

Now,  he  dwells  specifically  upon  a  statement  that  he  says — or 
an  agreement  that  he  says  he  entered  into  with  a  man  named 
Wilson — who  is  a  machinist  and  in  no  way  associated  with  the 
street  car  men's  organization — who  happened  to  be  in  the  city 
at  the  time  they  organized  and  who  was  called  into  their  conference. 
He  says  he  made  an  agreement  with  this  outside  man,  or  an  under- 
standing that  certain  things  were  to  be  done,  and  yet  he  tells  you 
that  he  will  not  deal  with  any  outsider. 

The  employes  of  this  organization  working  here  today  claim 
they  have  no  knowledge  of  any  such  agreement,  and  that  they  as 
employes  never  made  any  such  agreement. 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  101 

Now,  he  says  he  went  to  that  machinist,  who  is  not  connected 
with  this  organization,  an  outsider,  and  dealt  with  him,  and  yet 
he  won't  deal  today  with  his  own  men,  and  wants  to  hold  them  to 
a  contract  of  that  kind. 

I  would  Uke  to  have  him  present  that  contract  that  he  says  he 
has.  I  would  like  also  to  have  him  present  the  agreement  that  he 
says  he  has  with  the  non-union  men,  so  that  we  will  know  what  that 
agreement  is,  with  whom  it  was  made  and  when  it  was  made. 

Mr.  Wattles  says  he  will  not  make  any  agreement  with  the 
union  men,  and  yet  he  asks  the  pubUc  to  help  him  enforce  that  kind 
of  an  agreement  or  pledge  to  the  non-union  men. 

That  was  the  situation  on  Monday  when  this  meeting  was 
called,  and  I  asked  the  men  to  tell  me  what  to  do,  and  I  said  to 
them  that  I  would  leave  no  stone  unturned  to  try  to  bring  about 
an  amicable  settlement  and  adjustment.  I  said,  "Ask  for  another 
conference  with  the  company."  They  did  have  a  conference  with 
Mr.  Wattles  and  they  came  back  empty  handed,  without  a  single 
thing.  He  told  them  he  would  rather  cut  ofif  his  right  hand  than 
sign  an  agreement.  I  said  then,  "We  will  call  a  meeting  for  Friday 
afternoon  and  evening,  and  I  will  do  my  best  in  the  meantime  to 
see  if  we  cannot  get  some  one  interested  in  this  city  to  get  Mr. 
Wattles  to  make  some  concessions  that  will  help  us  out  of  this 
strained  situation."  And  I  did.  I  waited  upon  representative  men 
in  this  city.  They  went  to  Mr.  Wattles  and  asked  him  to  meet 
me.  He  made  as  an  excuse  that  he  had  refused  to  meet  Mr. 
Commons  and  for  that  reason  he  would  not  like  to  meet  me,  and 
he  repUed  in  that  letter  to  this  gentleman.  He  replied  to  him  by 
letter.  He  would  not  answer  him  direct  when  he  waited  on  him. 
He  says,  "I  will  reply  to  you  by  letter,"  and  he  did  write  him  a 
long  letter.  And  so  he  finally  said,  verbally,  "I  will  meet  Mr. 
Pratt  before  the  Business  Men's  organization  at  one  o'clock  Fri- 
day."  We  met  on  Friday  afternoon.  Our  meeting  was  at  2:30 
on  Friday  afternoon  and  on  Friday  night.  And  I  said  to  these 
gentlemen  that  I  would  go  up  there  and  present  to  them  our  side 
of  the  case,  and  I  hope,  gentlemen,  that  everything  is  recorded 
that  was  said  there.  I  hope  that  it  is  all  recorded  as  far  as  I  am 
concerned,  and  I  ask  them  to  produce  all  of  that  record  or  any  part 
of  it. 

I  appeared  before  that  body  at  one  o'clock  on  Friday  after- 
noon, and  after  Mr.  Wattles  got  up  and  made  a  few  introductory 
remarks,  I  introduced  myself  and  I  addressed  these  gentlemen 
and  presented  the  grievances  of  the  street  car  men  against  the 
company,  and  I  said  that  I  had  always  held  Mr.  Wattles  in  high 
esteem.  I  did  say  that,  and  I  defy  Mr.  Wattles  to  bring  forward 
a  single  man  in  this  city  that  has  ever  heard  me  say  a  disrespectful 
word  of  him,  or  apply  epithets  to  him,  in  any  way  or  at  any  time, 
and  we  have  the  signed  statement  of  every  man  who  was  in  the 
meeting  that  I  never  referred  to  Mr.  Wattles  except  in  the  highest 


102  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

terms,  whicli  is  the  fact.  I  did  say  that  I  believed  he  was  misin- 
formed; that  I  believed  his  under  officials  were  doing  things  of 
which  he  had  no  knowledge,  and  that  he  Ustened  to  them  and  was 
influenced  by  their  statements,  and  I  defy  Mr.  Wattles  to  produce 
any  man  that  has  ever  heard  me  speak  of  him  in  other  than  respect- 
ful terms.  If  these  gentlemen  make  such  statements  to  Mr.  Wat- 
tles, they  are  stating  things  which  are  untrue  and  which  can 
be  disproved. 

Now,  I  understand  we  are  not  in  arbitration  here.  If  we  are 
we  will  bring  forward  evidence  to  substantiate  every  statement 
that  we  have  made,  and  Mr.  Wattles  'does  not  need  to  fear  arbitra- 
tion, if  he  has  been  so  fair  and  broad-gauged  in  this  treatment  of 
his  employes.  Why  does  he  fear  arbitration?  We  court  arbitra- 
tion. 

I  explained  the  situation  to  the  business  men  and  several  of 
them  put  a  crossfire  of  questions,  and  then  somebody  called  for  Mr. 
Mahoney.  I  do  not  know  who  Mr,  Mahoney  is.  And  he  was  asked 
if  he  would  look  over  this  proposed  agreement.  I  had  submitted 
a  modified  proposition.  I  told  Mr.  Wattles  that  was  why  I  had 
asked  for  the  conference  with  him,  that  I  had  desired  to  submit 
a  modified  proposition  from  the  men,  and  if  he  would  concede  to 
some  of  these  points,  I  would  go  before  the  men  and  recommend  it  as 
a  settlement.  But  he  did  not  wish  to  meet  me  and  the  only  chance 
I  had  to  present  it  was  before  that  body,  and  I  had  read  it  to  them, 
and  Mr.  Mahoney  was  asked  to  look  it  over.  He  did  look  it  over 
and  he  undertook  to  find  flaws  in  the  contract.  He  says,  "Mr. 
Pratt,  let  us  read  this  first  clause  and  then  the  last  clause. "  He 
says,  "Who  are  the  responsible  parties  to  this  agreement?"  He 
says,  "I  do  not  see  anybody  here  but  the  company. " 

"  Well, "  I  said,  "  Mr.  Mahoney,  that  is  not  our  fault.  We  have 
a  responsible  organization  that  is  willing  to  sign  this  agreement, 
but  the  company  refuses  to  deal  with  the  organization  and  we  have 
made  it  read  Avith  the  employes  of  the  company,  to  meet  the  wishes 
of  the  company."  I  said,  "  You  can  make  that  contract  just  as 
strong  and  binding  as  you  want  it,  Mr.  Mahoney.  You  can  have 
it  signed  by  the  international  officers  as  an  evidence  of  good  faith. " 
I  said,  "  I  do  not  care  anything  about  the  phraseology,  you  can  put 
it  any  way  you  care  to  have  it  just  so  you  do  not  destroy  the  sub- 
stance."  I  said,  "This  contract  is  not  an  ultimatum  and  neither 
was  the  original  one. "  I  said,  "  It  may  be  considered  as  a  memo- 
randum of  what  the  men  would  like  to  have;  they  would  Uke  to 
discuss  these  things  with  the  company  and  have  an  amicable  adjust- 
ment. You  may  change  it,  we  care  only  for  the  substance,  and 
make  it  as  binding  as  you  like." 

It  was  about  a  quarter  past  three  when  the  conference  ad- 
journed, or  it  was  about  that  time  when  we  left  the  hall.  Before 
I  left  the  hall  a  motion  had  passed  unanimously  to  stand  by  Mr. 
Wattles  and  his  company's  position.     Before  that  motion  was 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  103 

passed,  however,  Mr.  Wattles  suggested  that  he  would  send  to 
every  employe  of  the  company  a  written  communication  setting 
forth  just  what  he  would  do.  I  said,  "  Mr.  Wattles,  what  would 
be  embodied  in  that  letter?"  He  said,  "  It  will  be  a  similar  letter 
to  the  one  you  have  read  here,  that  I  submitted  to  this  gentleman 
who  asked  for  a  conference. "  And  that  letter  we  have  here.  In 
his  own  letter  he  says  that  the  company  has  always  reserved  the 
right  to  tell  its  employes  that  they  prefer  to  have  them  not  join 
the  union.  He  admits  that  in  his  letter.  And  further  along  in 
the  letter  he  says  this  company  will  continue  the  same  policy  in 
the  future  that  it  has  in  the  past,  and  that  is  the  kind  of  letter 
he  wanted  to  send  back  to  his  men  as  individuals. 

Now,  he  said  in  that  conference  as  he  says  here  today  that  he 
would  always  meet  with  his  employes  as  individuals  or  as  com- 
mittees. I  said,  "  Mr.  Wattles,  are  you  willing  to  make  this  state- 
ment in  concrete  form  in  the  nature  of  a  letter  to  your  committee 
of  employes — the  men  are  now  waiting  in  their  meeting  hall  for 
me?  Will  you  make  it  in  the  nature  of  a  letter,  so  that  we  will 
have  something  under  your  signature,  to  carry  back  to  the  union — 
will  you  make  that  statement  in  writing  to  the  committee  of  your 
employes  that  you  will  deal  with  them  as  a  committee?  The 
proof  of  the  pudding  is  in  the  eating.  Will  you  sign  a  statement 
that  you  will  deal  with  that  committee?"  He  said,  "No,"  he 
would  not  do  it.     He  would  not  even  do  that. 

When  I  left  the  hall  I  said,  "  I  do  not  know  what  the  result 
of  this  meeting  will  be,  because  I  know  the  sentiment  of  the 
leaders  at  the  meeting  on  Monday,  and  you  are  sending  me  back  to 
the  meeting  empty-handed." 

And  I  read  that  letter,  exactly  as  I  told  Mr.  Wattles  I  would 
do,  without  comment,  in  both  meetings.  I  did  not  attempt  to 
discuss  the  letter  either  directly  or  indirectly,  and  I  did  not 
discuss  the  question  of  a  strike.  I  read  the  letter,  first,  without 
comment,  and  asked  them  to  express  their  own  intentions  in  that 
meeting — in  both  meetings,  and  we  have  a  signed  statement  here 
by  the  men  themselves,  who  were  present  at  the  meetings— his 
own  employes — to  that  effect. 

After  the  men  voted,  I  will  admit  that  I  talked  to  the  organiza- 
tion and  assured  them  that  I  would  stay  with  them  in  the  fight  to 
the  end.  There  was  no  fire-eating  oratory  and  no  vilifying  state- 
ments made  against  this  company  or  any  of  its  representatives. 
We  realized  that  they  were  trying  to  force  these  union  men  out  of 
the  service,  trying  to  destroy  the  organization  and  not  permit  it 
to  exist  here.  And  when  Mr.  Wattles  tells  you  that  this  is  not  a 
question  of  wages,  I  agree  with  him.  Yes,  I  agree  with  him.  He 
knows  well  that  this  fight  is  being  carried  on  for  the  purpose  of 
de8tro)dng  this  organization,  and  for  the  purpose  of  forcing  all 
union  men  out  of  this  railway  system. 


104  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

At  the  meetings  up  there  I  also  read  Mr.  Taft's  position  on 
the  question  of  labor  organization,  in  his  Chicago  speech.  And  I 
want  to  read  that  paragraph  here,  and  I  submit  that  we  are  willing 
to  settle  this  question  on  the  basis  of  Mr.  Taft's  statement. 

This  is  the  paragraph: 

"  I  know  there  is  an  element  among  the  employers  of  labor  and 
investors  of  capital  which  is  utterly  opposed  to  the  organization 
of  labor.  I  cannot  sympathize  with  this  element  in  the  slightest 
degree.  I  think  it  is  a  wise  course  for  laborers  to  unite  to  defend 
their  interests.  It  is  a  wise  course  for  them  to  provide  a  fund  by 
which,  should  occasion  arise  and  strikes  and  lockouts  follow,  those 
who  lose  their  places  may  be  supported  pending  an  adjustment  of 
the  difficulties. 

"  There  is  supposed  to  be  an  adjustment  after  there  is  a  strike 
or  a  lockout.  They  have  a  right  to  expect  that  their  grievances 
will  be  adjusted,  and  they  should  be  supported  in  their  demand  for 
arbitration  by  the  men  who  have  been  selected  by  the  voters  of 
the  community  to  protect  the  interests  and  the  rights  of  its  citizens. 

"  I  think  the  employer  who  decHnes  to  deal  with  organized 
labor  and  to  recognize  it  as  a  proper  element  in  the  settlement  of 
wage  controversies  is  behind  the  times.  There  is  not  the  shghtest 
doubt  that  if  labor  had  remained  unorganized  wages  would  be  very 
much  lower.  It  is  true  that  in  the  end  they  would  probably  be 
fixed  by  the  law  of  supply  and  demand,  but  generally  before  this 
law  manifests  itself  there  is  a  period  in  which  labor,  if  organized 
and  acting  together,  can  compel  the  employer  promptly  to  recog- 
nize the  change  of  conditions  and  advance  wages  to  meet  a  rising 
market  and  an  increase  in  profits,  and  on  the  other  hand  can  delay 
the  quick  impulse  of  the  employer,  facing  a  less  prosperous  future, 
to  decrease  wages." 

I  offered  to  accept  a  settlement — 

Mr.  Wattles:  Will  you  also  read  the  additional  clause  on 
unorganized  labor? 

Mr.  Pratt:  I  will  let  you  read  any  part  you  desire,  Mr. 
Wattles. 

Mr.  Lear  :  I  would  Uke  to  correct  Mr.  Wattles  in  one  thing. 
He  says  the  letter  was  not  read  until  after  the  vote  was  taken. 
I  was  there  and  it  was  shown  before  the  vote  was  taken  and  I  can 
swear  to  it.     It  was  read  before  the  vote  was  taken. 

Mr.  Wattles:  What  President  Taft  said  concerning  unor- 
ganized labor  is  not  here.  It  has  been  cut  off,  but  I  can  state  it 
substantially:  "Nothing  I  have  said  or  shall  say  should  in  any 
manner  be  construed  into  an  attitude  of  unfriendliness  to  the  men 
who  do  not  join  unions;"  and  he  goes  on  and  says  that  the  rights  of 
the  men  who  do  not  belong  to  a  union  are  just  as  sacred  and  should 
be  just  as  firmly  protected  as  the  rights  of  those  who  do. 

[Note  by  stenographer:  The  paragraph  of  President  Taft's 
speech,  to  which  Mr.  Wattles  referred,  is  as  follows: 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  105 

"  Nothing  I  have  said  or  shall  say,  should  be  construed  into 
an  attitude  of  criticism  or  unfriendliness  to  those  workingmen  who 
for  any  reason  do  not  join  unions.  Their  right  to  labor  for  such 
wages  as  they  choose  to  accept  is  secured,  and  any  lawless  invasion 
of  that  right  cannot  be  commended.  All  advantages  of  trades 
unionism,  great  as  they  are,  cannot  weigh  a  feather  in  the  scale 
against  the  right  of  any  man  lawfully  seeking  employment  to  work 
for  whom  and  at  what  price  he  will."] 

Mr.     Pratt:     Mr.    Chairman? 

Mr.  Wattles:  Just  one  more  word  on  that  subject.  Just 
a  word.  The  Scriptures  say  that  a  house  divided  against  itself 
cannot  stand — 

Mr.  Pratt:  And  I  want  to  subscribe  to  that  sentiment. 
That  is  just  what  he  wants  to  do — to  divide  the  house  of  his  em- 
ployes and  stifle  organization.  He  does  not  want  to  make  a  speci- 
fic agreement  with  them  under  which  they  would  be  entitled  to 
call  on  him  and  say,  "  You  agreed  to  do  so  and  so  and  you  have  not 
done  it. "  Mr.  Wattles  told  you  in  his  argument  that  the  reason 
that  he  did  not  want  to  sign  an  agreement  was  because  he  would 
have  a  closed  shop  as  soon  as  he  did  it.  That  is  one  of  the  things 
that  these  men  have  not  asked  for.  They  simply  ask  for  an  agree- 
ment which  will  insure  their  protection.  They  have  never  asked 
for  a  closed  shop  agreement.  We  waived  the  question  of  the 
recognition  of  the  union,  because  we  did  not  want  to  hurt  Mr. 
Wattles'  feelings.  We  offered  to  accept  a  signed  statement  if  he 
would  address  it  to  the  committee. 

Mr.  Wattles  has  referred  to  the  fact  that  we  are  sleeping  in 
rooms  and  stopping  at  hotels.  Where  would  he  have  us  stop — in 
livery  stables?  I  want  to  tell  Mr.  Wattles  that  we  Uve  on  $6  a 
day,  and  out  of  that  amount  we  have  to  pay  our  expenses  and  sup- 
port our  families. 

Mr.  Wattles  has  said  that  we  have  no  interests  here.  We  have 
interests  here.  These  car  men  are  chartered  under  the  amalga- 
mated association  and  are  entitled  to  protection. 

Mr.  Wattles  has  spoken  of  local  labor  leaders.  We  do  not 
question  the  ability  of  the  local  labor  men  here,  but  we  say  that 
every  man  has  his  trade — a  machinist  is  not  famiUar  with  the  con- 
ditions of  the  street  car  man,  and  Mr.  Wattles  will  admit  that  these 
men  of  whom  he  has  spoken  are  not  familiar  with  the  conditions 
of  the  street  car  men.  We  have  not  asked  that  he  admit  us  to  the 
conferences  at  all;  we  have  only  asked  him  to  treat  with  a  com- 
mittee of  his  employes  and  try  to  reach  some  adjustment. 

Now,  gentlemen,  there  is  a  money  question  too,  but  I  am  not 
going  to  take  up  your  time  in  discussing  that  because  I  do  not 
think  it  is  necessary.  I  only  ask  you  to  read  the  statement  he 
has  printed  in  the  papers.  I  do  not  see  anything  bad  about  that 
stenographic  report  of  this  conference.  The  committee  has  got 
enough  in  there  to  show  whether  the  men  or  the  company  is  in  the 


106  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

right,  and  any  intelligent  man  who  reads  it  can  determine  that 
question  for  himself.  Read  it.  Read  it.  There  is  nothing  there 
but  what  is  in  favor  of  the  men.  I  do  not  care  if  something  has 
been  left  out,  or  whether  some  typographical  errors  have  crept 
in.     Read  the  whole  report  from  beginning  to  end. 

Another  question  is  the  swing  run.  There  is  absolutely  no 
reason  why  the  swing  run  should  not  be  abolished,  and  they  have 
been  abolished  by  the  up-to-date  systems  of  the  country. 

With  reference  to  the  wages  paid  at  Kansas  City.  The  men 
have  been  struggling  there  for  years  to  get  an  increase  of  wages, 
and  we  have  men  there  today  helping  them  in  their  effort  to  get 
better  wages  from  the  company,  and  if  the  question  is  submitted 
to  arbitration  here  we  are  ready  to  justify  our  position  on  the  wage 
question;  we  are  ready  to  show  that  the  scale  asked  is  just  and 
reasonable  and  is  necessary  for  the  proper  support  of  the  men  and 
their  famiUes. 

I  want  to  tell  you  of  an  incident  that  came  up  when  I  was  here 
four  years  ago,  I  met  a  young  girl;  she  was  only  sixteen  years  of 
age,  and  wanted  to  get  honest  employment;  she  went  into  the  store 
of  one  of  the  local  merchants  and  applied  for  employment;  the 
merchant  offered  her  four  dollars  a  week,  and  she  says,  "I  cannot 
live  on  four  dollars  a  week."  He  says,  "  Get  wise  and  do  as  some  of 
these  other  girls,  and  get  some  one  to  pay  your  room  rent  for 
you. "  I  sent  that  girl  home,  and  she  is  now  married  and  has  a 
respectable  home. 

Now,  we  are  not  trying  to  tear  down  wages;  we  are  not  trying 
to  force  our  wives  and  our  daughters  into  business  of  that  kind. 
I  will  admit  we  want  better  wages,  but  we  are  not  making  any 
arbitrary  demand.  We  stand  before  you,  gentlemen,  today,  and 
we  are  willing  to  let  any  fair-minded  board  arbitrate  that  question 
of  wages  and  we  will  accept  its  decision. 

Now  then,  we  did  not  figure  on  having  a  strike  at  a  time  when 
it  would  cause  the  greatest  inconvenience  to  the  people  of  this 
community.  I  did  not  know  that  President  Taft  was  coming,  and 
I  did  not  know  that  there  was  such  a  thing  as  an  Ak-Sar-Ben. 
After  the  strike  was  on  we  offered  to  arbitrate,  to  put  the  men 
back  to  work  and  declare  a  truce  pending  the  arbitration,  but  our 
offer  was  not  accepted. 

If  Mr.  Wattles  was  so  considerate  of  the  pubUc  interest  and 
the  pubUc  welfare,  he  would  have  said,  "  Gentlemen,  we  will  have 
no  trouble  with  you;  President  Taft  is  coming  here;  we  will  arbi- 
trate these  questions." 

And  I  want  to  say,  gentlemen,  when  there  is  a  question  suffi- 
ciently grave  to  provoke  a  strike  or  a  lockout,  it  is  a  question  for 
arbitration.     (Applause.) 

Councilman  Berka:  The  parties  who  have  taken  the  affirm- 
ative will  have  the  right  to  close,  and  if  the  committee  desire  to 
make  any  reply  they  have  that  privilege. 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  107 

Chairman  Burmester  :    Has  the  committee  anything  further? 

Mr.  Lenahan:  I  wish  to  make  a  few  remarks  in  reply  to  the 
many  things  that  Mr.  Wattles  has  said.  He  made  a  verbal  agree- 
ment with  us  two  and  a  half  years  ago,  and  at  that  time  he  con- 
vinced the  committee  that  his  position  would  be  fair;  and,  in  fact, 
he  won  me  over  completely  and  convinced  me  of  the  righteousness 
of  his  cause,  but  two  weeks  had  not  elapsed  after  that  verbal  agree- 
ment was  entered  into  until  the  under  officials  of  this  company 
had  violated  every  promise  that  Mr.  Wattles  had  made,  and  ever 
since  we  have  been  treated  like  a  band  of  outlaws. 

We  have  been  picked  upon  and  we  have  been  humiUated,  and 
we  have  been  treated  as  though  we  had  no  rights  to  be  respected , 
and  as  though  we  did  not  even  have  the  right  to  live. 

Mr.  Wattles:  Have  you  ever  come  to  me  during  all  this 
time?  I  have  not  had  a  single  complaint  that  any  of  the  promises 
or  agreements  made  with  the  committee  had  been  violated.  Has 
your  union  ever  come  with  any  complaint? 

Mr.  Lenahan:  We  never  have,  for  the  simple  reason  that  we 
believed  that  the  way  we  had  been  treated,  and  the  conduct  of  the 
under  officials  of  this  company — in  chasing  us  around  like  we 
were  a  lot  of  wild  beasts — that  it  was  under  your  specific  orders 
that  those  things  were  being  done,  and  that  is  the  reason  we  did 
not  feel  like  going  up  there  to  be  thrown  downstairs  by  you  and  to 
be  humiUated.  We  did  not  feel  like  doing  that,  Mr.  Wattles.  We 
took  all  these  things  into  consideration,  and  we  said,  "  Now  we  will 
live  under  this  sort  of  persecution  and  see  just  exactly  how  far  this 
company  is  wilUng  to  carry  it. "  They  have  carried  it  to  the  ex- 
treme, and  the  attitude  and  disposition  of  the  men  on  this  system 
will  show  it  today — will  show  how  Mr.  Wattles  has  been  held  by 
his  own  men  in  the  cities  of  Omaha  and  Council  Bluflfs.  That  shows 
whether  the  treatment  you  have  been  giving  to  your  men  has  been 
reasonable  and  fair.  And,  gentlemen,  the  sooner  Mr.  Wattles  gets 
off  his  high  horse  and  gets  down  to  business,  the  better  it  will  be 
for  the  community  and  the  better  it  will  be  for  the  corporation  of 
which  he  is  the  president. 

He  may  be  the  president,  and  he  may  be  all  right,  and  he  may 
have  the  business  abiUty,  too,  but  I  do  not  believe  he  represents 
the  whole  street  railway  of  the  cities  of  Omaha  and  Council  Bluffs. 
(Applause.) 

Mr.  Lear:  I  will  say  that  it  is  a  fact  that  we  are  willing  to 
have  these  questions  submitted  to  arbitration  and  I  beUeve  our 
position  will  be  shown  to  be  fair  and  square.  We  are  willing  to 
arbitrate,  and  a  board  of  arbitration  could  be  appointed  this  after- 
noon if  the  company  will  consent  to  it. 

Councilman  Brucker:  I  move  that  the  speech-making  be 
closed. 

Chairman  Burmester:     Is  there  a  second  to  the  motion? 


108  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

Councilman  Berka:  If  there  was  anything  brought  out  by 
Mr.  Pratt  to  which  Mr.  Wattles  desires  to  make  a  reply,  anything 
which  he  has  not  had  an  opportunity  to  answer,  he  would  have  the 
right  to  do  that  now. 

Mr.  Lear:     Mr.  Chairman — 

Chairman  Burmester:  Any  other  gentleman  of  the  com- 
mittee wish  to  say  anything  further? 

Mr.  Lear  :  I  wish  to  say  in  regard  to  Mr.  Wattles'  statement 
that  he  made  no  disparaging  remarks  against  the  city  council — 
I  don't  know  that  he  did  at  the  last  meeting — but  I  was  before 
him  three  times,  and  I  will  take  my  oath  on  the  stand  that  I  have 
twice  heard  him  make  the  remark  that  if  it  had  not  been  for  the 
city  hall  grafters  and  hounds  he  would  have  raised  the  wages, 
would  have  been  glad  to  divide  the  money  between  his  men.  Those 
are  the  words  he  used. 

Mr.  Wattles:  I  want  to  simply  say  that  I  never  said  such 
words,  and  the  record  of  the  meeting  that  was  reported  will  show 
that  I  never  used  such  language.  Now  they  say  it  was  at  some 
meeting  of  which  we  have  no  record.  I  repeat  that  I  never  made 
any  such  remark, 

Mr.  Lear  :  Mr.  Wattles,  do  you  remember  the  time  that  Mr. 
Gil  Ian,  Mr.  Poncelow  and  myself  went  up  there  to  arrange  for  a 
conference  before  the  board  of  directors? 

Mr.  Wattles  :     I  remember  your  coming  there. 

Mr.  Lear:  And  what  statement  did  you  make  about  this 
council  and  about  this  sixty  thousand  dollars? 

Mr.  Wattles:     I  did  not  make  any  at  that  time. 

Mr.  Lear:  I  beg  your  pardon.  Didn't  you  say  that  the 
council  had  imposed  this  $60,000  tax  on  you  and  that  you  would 
not  be  able  to  raise  our  wages? 

Mr.  Wattles:     No. 

Mr.  Lear  :  I  will  go  before  any  tribunal  in  this  country  and 
swear  to  that. 

Councilman  McGovern:  Mr.  Chairman,  I  move  that  we 
adjourn  until  three  o'clock  this  afternoon  to  the  mayor's  office, 
and  that  the  council  and  the  committee  representing  the  street 
railway  employes,  and  the  officials,  or  a  committee  of  the  officials 
representing  the  Omaha  Street  Railway  company,  meet  together 
there  and  have  a  conference  about  this  affair. 

Mr.  Wattles:  I  will  say  that  I  cannot  be  present  at  that 
meeting.  I  have  an  engagement  to  meet  some  of  the  employes 
of  this  company  this  afternoon,  that  will  preclude  my  meeting  with 
you  at  that  time. 

Chairman  Burmester:    There  is  a  motion  before  the  house. 

Mayor  Dahlman:  Mr.  Chairman,  before  you  take  this  vote. 
As  I  said  before,  this  meeting  has  been  called  to  see  whether  the 
mayor  and  city  council  can  do  anything  towards  bringing  about  a 
settlement  between  the  parties  involved  in  this  controversy. 


INTERVENTION  OF  PUBLIC  OFFICIALS  109 

Now,  this  motion  that  has  just  been  made  suggests  that  the 
mayor  and  city  council,  and  a  committee  of  the  railway  men  and 
committee  of  the  railway  officials,  meet  at  my  office  at  three  o'clock. 

Now,  I  would  like  to  invite  Mr.  Wattles  to  be  at  my  office  at 
two  or  a  quarter  past  two,  and  I  would  like  to  talk  with  him  alone; 
and  then  I  would  like  to  ask  the  three  gentlemen  who  are  here, 
who  have  been  invited  up  here  to  represent  the  local  street  car 
men,  to  come  after  I  have  talked  with  him;  and  if  this  motion 
carries,  the  mayor  and  the  city  council  then  will  talk  this  matter 
over,  and  I  think  by  meeting  these  two  parties  separately  I  will 
be  in  a  position  to  tell  the  city  council  just  how  the  situation  stands, 
and  we  will  see  then  whether  anything  can  be  done  or  not. 

If  this  is  satisfactory,  and  these  gentlemen  will  accept  that 
invitation,  I  would  be  glad  if  they  would  do  it. 

This  meeting  is  simply  called,  as  has  been  stated  here  before, — 
it  is  not  what  might  be  called  an  official  meeting — but  it  has  been 
called  by  the  members  of  the  council  who  represent  the  city  in  an 
official  way,  and  if  there  is  anything  that  we  can  do  towards  bring- 
ing about  a  settlement  here,  why,  we  want  to  do  it.  Of  course, 
if  we  cannot,  why,  that  is  another  proposition. 

I  feel  that  in  the  interests  of  the  men  who  have  gone  out  of 
the  employment  of  the  street  car  company,  and  in  the  interests 
of  the  street  car  company  itself  and  the  whole  people  of  the  city 
of  Omaha,  that  the  least  we  can  do  as  city  officials  is  to  do  what  we 
can  to  see  if  we  cannot  bring  about  a  settlement.  Now  then,  this  is 
done  in  a  spirit  of  fairness  and  I  believe  it  is  for  the  best  interests 
of  everybody,  and  if  we  do  not  succeed,  why,  we  at  least  have  done 
what  we  thought  was  best  for  us  to  do. 

If  we  do  succeed  in  accomplishing  something  that  will  settle 
this  controversy,  then  we  have  done  the  best  we  could.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  Wattles:  I  will  say  that  I  will  be  very  glad  to  wait  on 
the  mayor  at  any  time  that  he  may  see  fit  to  call  me. 

Mayor  Dahlman:  That  is  very  nice.  I  will  make  it  a 
quarter  past  two. 

Mr.  Wattles:  I  have  another  meeting,  but  I  will  postpone 
it,  Mr.  Mayor. 

Mayor  Dahlman  :     Then  we  might  make  it  more  convenient. 

Mr.  Wattles:     I  could  meet  you  at  half  past  one. 

Mayor  Dahlman:     That  will  do. 

Mayor  Dahlman:  What  time  can  you  gentlemen  be  here? 
This  is  not  going  to  be  a  meeting  where  you  will  be  together.  This 
is  to  be  a  meeting  where  I  am  going  to  talk  with  you  separately. 
I  want  that  understood. 

Chairman  Burmester:  This  being  understood,  then  the 
motion  is  that  we  adjourn  to  meet  at  the  mayor's  office  at  three 
o'clock.     Carried. 


no  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

State  of  Nebraska,     I 
County  of  Douglas,    j 

This  is  to  certify  that  the  foregoing  transcript  is  a  true  and 
complete  record  of  the  proceedings  at  the  meeting  held  in  the 
council  chamber  of  the  city  of  Omaha  between  the  hours  of  ten  and 
twelve  on  the  morning  of  September  21,  1909,  which  meeting  is 
more  fully  described  in  page  one  of  this  transcript. 

I  further  certify  that  this  transcript  contains  65  pages  of  type- 
writing, numbered  1  to  65,  both  inclusive. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  signed  my  name,  at 
Omaha,  Nebraska,  this  16th  day  of  October,  A.  D.  1909. 

Frank  J.  Sutcliffe, 

Shorthand  Reporter. 


Chapter  IX. 


TERMS  OF  RE-EMPLOYMENT  SUBMITTED 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  none  of  the  results  planned  by  the 
city  council  were  obtained  through  this  public  meeting.  It  only 
served  to  acquaint  those  present  with  the  details  of  the  contro- 
versy. 

At  the  meeting  with  the  mayor  on  the  afternoon  of  the  same 
day,  the  president  of  the  street  railway  company  discussed  some 
of  the  terms  and  conditions  which  he  would  recommend  to  the 
board  of  directors  to  be  offered  to  the  strikers.  On  the  same 
afternoon,  at  a  meeting  of  a  committee  of  three,  Messrs.  Burmester, 
Berka  and  Funkhouser,  of  the  city  council,  this  discussion  was 
continued  with  no  definite  results. 

On  the  following  day.  Mayor  Dahlman  called  a  meeting  of 
the  mayors  of  the  five  cities  involved  by  the  strike.  Mayor 
Frank  Koutsky  of  South  Omaha,  Mayor  Thomas  Maloney  of  Coun- 
cil Bluffs,  Mayor  F.  S.  Tucker  of  Florence,  and  Mayor  Charles  A. 
Tracy  of  Benson,  met  with  Mayor  Dahlman  at  his  office.  By 
invitation,  the  president  of  the  street  railway  company  attended 
this  meeting.  Again  terms  and  conditions,  under  which  the  street 
railway  company  would  receive  back  into  its  employ  at  least  a 
large  percentage  of  the  striking  men,  were  discussed. 

This  discussion  was  continued  from  day  to  day  during  the 
remainder  of  the  week,  and  one  point  after  another  was  agreed 
upon,  between  the  mayors  on  the  one  side  and  the  president  of  the 
street  railway  company  on  the  other.  The  final  question,  as  to 
whether  or  not  the  men  would  be  allowed  to  return  to  the  service 
of  the  company  and  retain  their  membership  in  the  union,  was  left 
to  be  determined  at  a  meeting  between  the  mayors,  the  officers 
and  directors  of  the  street  railway  company,  and  the  committee 
before  mentioned  from  the  city  council,  to  be  held  at  four  o'clock 
on  Sunday  afternoon,  September  26th,  at  the  office  of  the  street 
railway  company. 

At  this  meeting,  the  terms  and  conditions  which  the  officers 
and  directors  of  the  street  railway  company  were  willing  to  concede 

(ill) 


112  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

were  fully  discussed.  All  of  these  terms  had  been  tentatively 
agreed  to  between  the  president  of  the  street  railway  company  and 
the  mayors  of  the  five  cities  at  the  previous  meetings,  except  the 
proposition  concerning  the  union.  The  proposition  outlined  by 
the  street  railway  officials  was  as  follows: 

"6.  We  cannot  peaceably  conduct  our  affairs  with  part  of 
our  employes  union  and  the  remainder  non-union.  This  plan  of 
operation  has  been  tried  for  seven  years,  and  has  now  resulted  in 
this  strike,  in  spite  of  all  our  efforts  to  prevent  it.  At  the  meeting 
with  the  committee  of  the  union,  on  September  15,  1909,  the  presi- 
dent of  the  company  positively  told  the  committee  that,  if  under 
the  existing  conditions  the  union  men  quit  the  employ  of  the  com- 
pany, never  again  would  a  union  man  be  employed  by  the  com- 
pany. Notwithstanding  this,  the  union  called  this  strike,  thereby 
subjecting  the  pubUc  to  greatest  inconvenience,  and  both  the 
pubUc  and  this  company  to  enormous  loss.  We  cannot  permit  such 
conditions  to  again  arise,  and  have,  therefore,  decided  to  employ 
only  those  who  are  willing  to  work  on  a  non-union  basis. " 

To  this  proposition  there  was  dissension  by  all  the  mayors  and 
by  every  member  of  the  committee  of  the  council,  as  well  as  by 
several  business  men  who  were  present.  The  officers  and  directors 
of  the  company  were  strongly  urged  by  all  present  to  modify  this 
condition,  so  that  the  striking  employes  might  return  to  the  service 
of  the  company  without  humiUation,  and  without  the  surrender  of 
their  union  affiliations. 

After  a  thorough  discussion  of  the  subject,  the  street  railway 
officials  finally  agreed  to  eliminate  this  paragraph  and  insert  in 
lieu  thereof  paragraphs  6  and  7.  After  this  change  had  been  agreed 
upon,  the  proposition  was  signed  by  the  president  of  the  street 
railway  company  and  its  directors,  and  was  recommended  for  the 
acceptance  of  the  men  by  the  mayors  and  the  committee  of  the 
council.  On  the  following  morning,  Monday,  September  27th,  it 
was  pubUshed  in  all  the  daily  newspapers  in  Omaha  and  Council 
Bluffs,  and  was  posted  in  all  the  company's  car  barns.  This 
proposition  in  full  as  published  was  as  follows: 

PROPOSITION  MADE  BY  STREET  RAILWAY  COMPANY. 

"TO  THE  FORMER  EMPLOYES  OF  THE  OMAHA  &  COUN- 
CIL BLUFFS  STREET  RAILWAY  COMPANY: 
"You  are  hereby  notified  that  on  or  before  Tuesday  noon, 
September  28,  1909,  meritorious  employes,  including  at  least  90 


TERMS  OF  RE-EMPLOYMENT  SUBMITTED  113 

per  cent  of  those  who  are  now  out  on  a  strike,  will  be  received  back 
into  the  employ  of  the  company  at  the  same  wages  which  each 
was  receiving  at  the  date  he  quit  our  employ,  subject  to  the  senior- 
ity rights  which  have  been  acquired  by  those  employes  who  have 
remained  in  the  service  of  the  company  and  those  who  have  been 
employed  for  permanent  service  since  September  17,1 909.  Former 
employes  who  fail  to  report  for  duty  on  or  before  the  date  above 
mentioned  will  lose  all  of  their  rights  hereunder  and  their  positions 
will  be  filled  by  the  company  with  others  who  are  seeking  to  obtain 
them. 

"Those  who  re-enter  the  employ  of  this  company  will  do  so 
under  the  following  terms  and  conditions: 

"1.  It  will  be  the  policy  of  this  company  in  the 
future  as  in  the  past  to  pay  its  employes  as  good  or  better 
wages  as  similar  employes  receive  in  other  cities  where 
like  conditions  prevail  to  those  in  this  community.  An 
increase  of  pay,  which  will  amount  to  at  least  one  cent  per 
hour,  will  be  made  as  soon  as  the  financial  condition  of 
the  company  will  justify,  and,  if  the  strike  ends  at  this 
time,  within  one  year  from  this  date. 

"  2.  This  company  will  keep  in  its  employ  a  sufficient 
number  of  extra  men,  so  that  regular  employes  may  lay 
off  in  time  of  sickness  or  for  other  purposes,  on  reason- 
able notice  to  the  company. 

"  3.  A  careful  revision  of  the  schedules  will  be  made 
within  sixty  days  and  the  present  features,  which  have 
been  objected  to,  will  be  eliminated  so  far  as  possible. 

"4.  In  the  event  any  employe  of  this  company  is 
dissatisfied  with  the  treatment  he  receives  from  under- 
officials,  he  shall  have  the  right  to  appeal  to  the  general 
manager  or  the  president,  or  the  board  of  directors,  and 
have  the  case  reviewed  without  prejudice. 

"5.  All  motormen  and  conductors,  when  called 
upon  to  take  out  extras,  will  be  paid  from  the  time  they 
report  for  duty  until  they  are  reUeved. 

"6.  This  company  will  make  no  contract  with,  nor 
recognize,  nor  deal  with  any  union  among  its  employes. 
It  will  deal  with  all  its  employes  alike  as  individuals. 

"  7.  The  future  policy  of  the  company  in  the  employ- 
ment of  new  men  will  be  to  employ  only  such  as  will 
agree  to  work  on  a  non-union  basis. 

"OMAHA  &  COUNCIL  BLUFFS  STREET  RAILWAY  CO., 
By  G.  W.  Wattles,  President. 

F.  T.  Hamilton,  L.  F.  Cropoot, 

W.  V.  Morse,  K.  C.  Barton, 

C.  R.  Tyler,  W.  A.  Smith, 

Directors. 


114  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

"  The  above  proposition  by  the  Omaha  &  Council  Bluffs  Street 
Railway  company  is  the  result  of  protracted  negotiations,  and  we 
recommend  it  to  the  employes  for  their  acceptance. 

James  C.  Dahlman,  Mayor  of  Omaha. 
Frank  Koutsky,  Mayor  of  South  Omaha. 
Thos.  Maloney,  Mayor  of  Council  Bluffs. 
F.  S.  Tucker,  Mayor  of  Florence. 
Chas.  a.  Tracy,  Mayor  of  Benson. 
Louis  Burmester, 
M.  F.  Funkhouser, 
Louis  Berka, 
Committee  of  City  Council  of  Omaha." 

It  afterwards  transpired  that  Mayor  Dahlman  had  consulted 
Mr.  C.  O.  Pratt,  the  strike  leader,  during  the  progress  of  the  negotia- 
tions on  the  proposition,  and  that  he  had  expressed  no  objections 
to  the  terms  as  finally  announced,  although  Mr.  Pratt  afterwards 
stated  he  had  not  agreed  to  anything,  except  to  arbitrate  all  the 
questions  involved. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  no  action  was  taken  by  the  union  as  a 
body  on  this  proposition  of  the  street  railway  company.  The 
claim  was  made  that  no  ofl&cial  copy  of  these  terms  had  been  served 
on  the  officers  of  the  union,  and  Mr.  Pratt  was  quoted  in  the  news- 
papers as  follows:  "  We  have  received  no  statement  of  terms  from 
the  company  to  the  proposition  and  no  answer  to  my  last  communi- 
cation, and  therefore  can  do  nothing." 

Numerous  other  objections  were  raised,  but  the  men  them- 
selves were  not  given  the  opportunity  to  vote  one  way  or  the  other 
on  the  question  of  whether  or  not  they  were  willing  to  return  to 
work  on  the  terms  announced.  A  committee  of  the  union  pub- 
lished a  signed  statement  in  the  newspapers  regarding  the  propo- 
sition of  settlement,  as  follows: 

CAR  MEN'S  STATEMENT. 

DEALS  WITH  THE  PROPOSITION  MADE  BY  THE  STREET 
RAILWAY  COMPANY. 

"  The  locked  out  union  street  car  men  desire  that  the  general 
public  should  know  of  the  unfair  treatment  that  is  being  accorded 
them  by  the  street  railway  company  and  how  far-reaching  their 
influence  goes  in  an  effort  to  place  us  in  the  wrong  hght. 

"  We  have  always  stood  ready  for  fair  and  impartial  arbitra- 
tion of  our  grievances,  the  men  to  all  return  to  work  immediately. 


TERMS  OF  RE-EMPLOYMENT  SUBMITTED  115 

"On  last  Thursday  the  five  mayors  representing  Omaha, 
South  Omaha,  Council  Bluffs,  Benson  and  Florence  met  our  repre- 
sentatives and  agreed  to  try  and  obtain  a  satisfactory  settlement 
for  us  with  the  company  or  insist  upon  arbitration.  Their  efforts 
on  Thursday  failed  of  any  satisfactory  results,  and  they  agreed 
to  meet  the  company's  representatives  again  on  Friday.  The 
efforts  of  Friday  proved  as  fruitless  as  those  of  the  day  before. 
They  then  said  they  would  meet  the  company's  representatives 
again  on  Saturday  and  make  a  further  effort.  On  Saturday  there 
was  nothing  accomplished  that  was  indicative  of  favorable  results. 
The  mayors  told  us  that  they  were  to  meet  with  President  Wattles, 
the  board  of  directors  of  the  company  and  a  committee  from  the 
city  council  at  three  o'clock  Sunday  afternoon,  and  that  they 
would  give  us  a  definite  answer  at  that  time.  With  this  assurance 
we  called  a  meeting  of  the  locked-out  carmen  at  the  Labor  Temple 
for  Sunday  night  at  eight  o'clock,  to  receive  and  act  upon  any 
propositions  that  the  mayors  might  have  to  submit  back  to  us. 

"  On  Sunday  afternoon  at  their  meeting,  according  to  published 
statements,  a  committee  from  the  Business  Men's  Association 
were  invited  to  be  present  and  participate  in  the  deliberations. 
It  will  be  noticeable  that  labor's  interests  were  entirely  ignored. 
The  decision  arrived  at  during  this  conference  was  placed  in  a 
sealed  envelope  to  be  opened  at  ten  o'clock  on  Sunday  night  for 
the  benefit  of  the  newspaper  men,  with  the  understanding  that  no 
special  extras  should  be  put  out  upon  the  street.  Why  were  the 
car  men  who  were  waiting  at  the  meeting  hall,  for  the  purpose 
of  learning  the  results  of  this  conference,  entirely  ignored?  There 
must  be  something  radically  wrong  when  a  committee  of  this  kind 
will  purposely  withhold  important  information  of  this  nature  from 
the  men  who  were  directly  involved  in  the  controversy,  and  who  had 
marched  long  miles  to  be  present  at  their  meeting  hall,  and  were 
anxiously  waiting  to  co-operate  in  the  interest  of  peace  and  in 
restoring  normal  street  car  service  in  the  city  of  Omaha. 

"Up  to  the  present  moment  not  a  word  has  been  received 
from  the  mayors,  city  council  or  the  street  car  company  by 
the  locked-out  car  men,  advising  them  of  any  proposals  for  their 
consideration.  The  men  waited  all  day  at  their  meeting  hall  again 
on  Monday  for  some  word  to  be  sent  to  them  for  their  consideration. 
A  letter  was  sent  to  Mr.  Wattles  Monday  forenoon  urging  that  he 
appear  before  his  employes  and  give  them  any  assurances  that  his 
company  were  willing  to  make,  if  they  would  return  to  work.  Not 
as  much  as  a  reply  has  been  received  from  him. 

"In  the  newspapers  we  have  read  a  statement  of  what  the 
company  and  the  mayors  have  had  to  say.  We  feel  that  Mr.  Wat- 
tles' statements  need  no  reply  from  us.  The  public  can  read 
and  understand  his  position.  It  fully  bears  out  every  claim  that 
we  have  made  against  the  company.  It  even  deprives  us  of  rights 
that  we  have  previously  enjoyed.    It  is  clearly  an  insult,  not  only  to 


116  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

the  carmen,  but  to  every  patron  who  rides  upon  the  street  cars 
in  this  city.  Mr.  Wattles  has  revealed  himself  before  the  public 
in  his  true  character  more  forcibly  than  we  could  possibly  have 
done.  We  feel  that  no  right  thinking  man  or  woman,  regardless 
of  whether  they  are  in  sympathy  with  organized  labor  or  not, 
would  ask  us  for  one  moment  to  give  such  a  proposition  serious 
consideration. 

"The  suggestions  the  company  have  offered  through  the 
newspapers  would  mean  that  ten  per  cent  of  the  men  could  never 
be  returned  to  work,  and  that  the  ninety  per  cent  would  have  to 
return  at  the  foot  of  the  extra  Ust,  if  Mr.  Wattles  so  desired,  under 
the  interpretation  of  his  seniority  clause.  The  seventh  clause 
providing  that  in  the  future  no  man  would  be  given  employment 
unless  he  obUgated  himself  not  to  join  a  "labor  union,  is  clearly  a 
violation  of  the  law,  and  surely  Mr.  Wattles  does  not  want  to 
stand  before  the  public  as  openly  advocating  violation  of  the  laws. 

"This  company  is  in  a  position  to  pay  the  increased  wage 
asked  for  by  the  men,  and  no  better  evidence  is  needed  than  to 
point  to  the  fact  that  they  have  been  paying  imported  men  five 
dollars  per  day,  with  board  and  keep,  and  permitted  them  to  retain 
the  greater  portion  of  the  receipts  taken  in  upon  the  cars. 

"  We  still  stand  for  arbitration,  and  urge  an  immediate  settle- 
ment upon  any  amicable  and  honorable  basis,  but  if  Mr.  Wattles 
insists  that  this  is  a  fight  to  a  finish,  our  fight  has  only  just  begun. 

"  We  ask  that  all  our  friends  withhold  patronage  and  support 
from  the  company  until  such  time  as  they  will  recognize  the  just 
claims  of  their  former  employes.  We  would  also  urge  that  you 
use  every  honorable  influence  to  bring  about  an  amicable  adjust- 
ment, not  only  in  our  interests,  but  in  the  interests  of  this  entire 
community. 

"  We  deeply  regret  that  we  are  forced  to  continue  such  an  un- 
pleasant warfare,  but  this  company  has  left  us  no  other  alterna- 
tive. 

"Thanking  our  friends  for  the  loyal  support  that  they  are 
giving  us,  both  morally  and  financially,  and  assuring  you  of  our 
sincerest  appreciation,  we  beg  to  remain, 

William  H.  Poncelow,        H.  P.  Nelson, 

W.    GiLLAN,  W.    S.    BOIEN, 

Michael  Kenney,  P.  J.  Lenahan, 

E.  I.  Morrow,  Charles  H.  Lear, 

Committee  Representing  the  Street  Car  Men. " 

Before  the  time  expired,  however,  about  sixty  striking  em- 
ployes returned  to  the  service  of  the  company,  and  from  that 
time  forward,  during  the  succeeding  two  weeks,  about  200  more 
applied  for  service,  and  167  of  them  were  given  positions. 


Chapter  X. 


LABOR  COMMISSIONER'S  INVESTIGATION 

On  Tuesday  forenoon,  September  28th,  Mr.  Will  M.  Maupin, 
Deputy  State  Labor  Commissioner,  called  on  the  president  of  the 
street  railway  company,  and  stated  that  he  was  investigating  the 
cause  of  the  strike.  After  asking  numerous  questions  and  receiv- 
ing full  information  on  every  phase  of  the  subject,  he  asked  the 
president  to  certify  a  newspaper  copy  of  the  terms  of  settlement 
offered  to  the  men  as  being  a  true  copy  of  the  proposition  made. 
This  was  done.  He  then  stated  that  he  would  be  very  glad  to 
offer  his  services  to,  if  possible,  settle  the  controversy,  and  stated 
that  he  would  rather  be  the  cause  of  an  amicable  settlement  than 
to  be  governor  of  the  State  of  Nebraska, 

After  some  discussion,  he  asked  that  the  time  fixed  for  the 
men  to  return  to  the  service  of  the  company  be  extended,  in  order 
to  permit  him,  if  possible,  to  remove  any  objections  to  their 
acceptance  of  the  proposition,  or  make  any  modifications  necessary 
to  induce  them  to  accept  it.  He  was  told  that  this  time  had  been 
fixed  by  the  board  of  directors  of  the  street  railway  company,  and 
could  not  under  any  conditions  be  extended.  He  left  the  office  of 
the  president  to  consult  with  the  strike  leaders,  and  agreed  to 
return  with  his  report  at  five  o'clock  P.  M.  on  the  same  day.  He 
did  not  again  call  on  the  president  until  about  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening  of  the  same  day,  when  he  called  at  his  residence,  and  then 
presented  the  following,  which  he  stated  was  the  final  proposition 
of  the  strike  leaders: 

"  Every  man  to  be  reinstated  to  his  former  position  without 
prejudice. 

"  Wages  26,  27  and  28  cents  per  hour. 

"  Abolition  of  the  swing  run  system. 

"  Men  to  be  protected  in  their  employment,  by  being  permitted 
to  have  accredited  representatives  selected  by  the  employes  to 
take  up  grievances  that  may  arise  from  time  to  time,  with  the 
proper  officials  of  the  company,  for  adjustment. 

(117) 


118  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

"  A  provision  for  arbitrating  differences  that  cannot  be  ami- 
cably adjusted  between  the  accredited  representatives  of  the  em- 
ployes and  the  proper  officials  of  the  company,  so  as  to  preclude 
the  possibility  of  further  strikes  or  lockouts. 

"No  discrimination  to  be  made  against  any  employe  for 
membership  in  any  organization,  and  all  employes  to  be  protected 
in  their  rights  to  belong  to  any  organization  if  they  so  desire. 

"Sufficient  extra  men  to  be  maintained  to  permit  regular 
men  to  lay  off  duty,  at  least  four  days  in  every  month. 

"An  agreement  embodying  the  above  suggestions  to  be 
entered  into  for  a  period  of  one  year. " 

This  proposition  was  discussed  for  some  time,  and  in  this 
discussion  Mr.  Maupin  especially  insisted  on  the  point  that  all  the 
strikers  should  be  taken  back  into  the  employ  of  the  company 
without  prejudice.  The  president  of  the  company  made  it  clear 
to  him  that  this  could  not  be  done,  as  some  of  these  men  had  en- 
gaged in  acts  of  violence  against  the  company,  and  as  others  had 
committed  offenses  which  precluded  their  re-employment  by  the 
company.  When  Mr.  Maupin  replied  that  it  would  be  a  punish- 
ment on  some  of  the  leaders  if  they  were  to  lose  their  positions, 
which  the  rank  and  file  of  the  striking  employes  would  hardly  be 
inclined  to  impose  on  them,  the  president  stated  that  the  company 
had  been  punished  most  severely;  that  the  public  had  been  pun- 
ished by  great  inconvenience  and  loss;  and  that  it  would  be  unrea- 
sonable to  suppose  that  the  strikers  would  be  returned  to  their 
positions  without  any  punishment  whatever.  After  some  further 
discussion  on  the  proposition  presented,  it  was  rejected  by  the 
president  of  the  company,  and  Mr.  Maupin  left  the  city  that 
same  evening. 

He  afterwards  made  a  report  to  the  governor  of  Nebraska, 
which  was  published.     It  reads  as  follows: 

"  In  the  matter  of  the  present  strike  of  the  motormen  and  con- 
ductors of  Omaha,  against  the  Omaha  &  Council  Bluffs  Street  Rail- 
way company ,  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report : 

"The  present  difficulty  had  its  inception  some  four  or  five 
years  ago,  when  the  motormen  and  conductors  in  the  employ 
of  the  above  named  company,  perfected  an  organization  to  promote 
their  interests.  After  careful  investigation,  it  appears  that  there 
is  also  in  Omaha  an  organization  of  business  men,  whose  purpose 
is  to  enforce  the  'open  shop'  poUcy  and  to  refuse  to  recognize  unions 
of  employes.     Since  the  organization  of  the  street  railway  employes 


LABOR  COMMISSIONER'S  INVESTIGATION  119 

there  has  been  considerable  friction,  the  men  asking  that  their 
grievances  be  presented  to  the  company  through  a  committee 
selected  from  among  their  number,  and  this  request  being  refused 
when  presented.  The  influence  of  the  organization  of  business 
men  is  very  powerful  in  this  business  world.  The  employes  of  the 
street  railway  company  declare  that  the  members  of  their  union 
have  been  discriminated  against.  As  evidence  of  this  they  claim 
that,  of  approximately  650  motormen  and  conductors  employed 
last  year,  not  less  than  450  were  discharged  or  forced  to  resign 
because  of  this  alleged  discrimination. 

"  About  six  weeks  ago  the  employes  appointed  a  committee 
to  wait  upon  President  Wattles,  of  the  company,  with  a  statement 
of  what  they  wanted. 

"  President  Wattles  refused  to  agree  to  any  of  these  requests. 
A  number  of  conferences  were  held  between  the  committee  repre- 
senting the  employes  and  President  Wattles.  To  the  demands 
of  the  men,  he  offered  to  increase  wages  as  soon  as  the  financial 
condition  of  the  company  permitted,  and  to  increase  them  one 
cent  an  hour  inside  of  one  year.  President  Wattles  refused  to 
recognize  a  grievance  committee  representing  the  union,  or  to  con- 
sent to  arbitration  of  grievances.  He  stated  that  there  was  no 
need  of  a  committee,  and  no  necessity  to  make  provision  for 
arbitration. 

"  As  before  stated,  several  conferences  were  held  between 
the  employes  and  President  Wattles,  but  without  avail,  and  then 
the  union  sent  for  two  of  its  international  officers.  These  officers 
arrived  and  assumed  the  duty  of  trying  to  reach  an  agreement. 
President  Wattles  agreed  to  meet  Chairman  Pratt  before  a  meeting 
of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Business  Men's  Association. 
Mr.  Pratt  told  what  the  men  wanted,  and  Mr.  Wattles  told  what 
he  was  willing  to  write  and  send  to  each  individual  employe.  Mr. 
Pratt  took  President  Wattles'  statement  back  to  the  employes 
and  submitted  it  without  comment.  The  employes  thereupon 
decided  to  strike,  and  the  strike  began  on  Saturday  morning, 
September  18. 

"President  Wattles  insisted  that  the  company  was  plunged 
into  this  strike  without  notice,  and  taken  unawares.  The  striking 
employes  claim  that  before  the  strike  was  twelve  hours  old  pro- 
fessional strike-breakers,  many  of  them  armed,  were  being  imported 
into  the  state  and  used  to  man  the  cars. 

"The  Monday  following  the  strike,  I  went  to  Omaha  with  a 
view  to  acquainting  myself  with  the  facts.  Before  making  any 
effort  to  seek  an  adjustment  of  the  difficulty,  I  thought  it  best  to 
await  the  result  of  efforts  being  put  forth  by  Omaha  parties.  A 
councilmanic  hearing  was  held,  at  which  President  Wattles  and 
the  committee  from  the  striking  employes  aired  their  grievances. 
Nothing  resulted.  A  little  later  the  mayors  of  Omaha,  South 
Omaha,  Florence,  Benson  and  Council  Bluffs  undertook  to  reach 


120  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

a  settlement.  They  met  from  day  to  day,  and  finally,  on  Sunday 
afternoon,  September  26th,  they  evolved  a  plan  of  settlement 
which  was  endorsed  by  President  Wattles.  This,  however,  was 
not  officially  presented  to  the  striking  employes,  but  was  put 
into  sealed  envelopes,  and  given  to  the  daily  newspapers  with  the 
understanding  that  the  envelopes  were  not  to  be  opened  until 
ten  o'clock  that  night,  and  no  extras  issued.  Up  to  Tuesday, 
September  28,  the  striking  employes  had  no  official  knowledge 
of  this,  and  then  I  was  empowered  by  President  Wattles  to  present 
it  to  them,  which  I  did.  The  men  refused  to  accept  any  plan 
of  settlement  that  would  deprive  them  of  the  right  to  join  any 
lawful  organization  or  society  that  might  appeal  to  them. 

"On  Monday,  September  27,  I  proceeded  again  to  Omaha 
for  the  purpose  of  using  my  best  efforts  to  adjust  the  differences 
between  the  striking  employes  and  the  company.  I  first  sought 
to  ascertain  what  the  men  wanted,  and  after  having  informed 
myself  as  to  that,  I  proceeded  to  confer  with  President  Wattles. 
President  Wattles  met  me  fairly  and  frankly  and  we  went  over  the 
situation  thoroughly.  Upon  the  main  contentions  of  the  men  he 
would  not  concede  anything.  He  refused  to  deal  with  a  committee 
of  the  employes,  after  the  question  of  the  union  had  been  eliminated 
from  the  discussion.  He  refused  to  submit  any  point  of  difference 
whatever  to  arbitration.  Finally,  he  declared  against  employ- 
ment in  the  future  of  any  man  who  would  not  agree  to  remain 
outside  of  any  union  of  street  railway  men.  He  did  agree  to  take 
back  ninety  per  cent  of  the  striking  employes,  but  under  no 
consideration  would  he  agree  to  taking  them  all  back.  He  also 
declared  to  me  that  it  was  his  intention,  and  the  intention  of  the 
executive  committee  of  the  company,  to  'punish  somebody'  for  call- 
ing this  strike.  The  employes  would  not  listen  to  a  proposition 
of  settlement  based  upon  the  possible  punishment  of  the  men  who 
had  transacted  their  business  for  them.  It  was  upon  this  that  the 
final  split  came.  President  Wattles  insisted  that  only  ninety  per 
cent  of  the  strikers  would  be  re-employed.  I  suggested  to  the 
men  that  they  agree  that  in  case  all  were  taken  back  the  company 
might  consider  individual  cases  on  their  merits,  and,  if  it  had  a 
grievance  against  any  man  because  of  his  connection  with  the 
strike,  the  case  should  be  fairly  and  impartially  arbitrated  by  a 
committee  composed  of  thriee  men,  consisting  of  one  from  the 
company,  one  from  the  men,  and  yourself,  acting  in  your  official 
capacity  as  the  commissioner  of  labor.  The  men  agreed  to  this, 
but  President  Wattles  refused. 

"  With  this  I  ceased  all  efforts  to  reconcile  the  parties  to  the 
controversy,  feeling  that  I  had  exhausted  every  means  at  my 
command. 

"  With  some  experience  in  labor  strikes  and  industrial  disputes, 
I  am  compelled  to  say  that  the  present  strike  in  Omaha  has  been 
conducted  with  less  disorder  than  any  strike  of  a  similar  nature 


LABOR  COMMISSIONER'S  INVESTIGATION  121 

within  my  experience.  The  strikers  are  conducting  themselves 
in  a  most  orderiy  manner.  True,  there  has  been  some  disorder, 
but  it  has  been  caused  by  foolish  sympathizers  of  the  strikers. 

"  It  appears  to  me,  your  excellency,  after  a  careful  investiga- 
tion of  the  causes  leading  to  this  strike,  and  a  faithful  efifort  to 
bring  it  to  an  end,  that  an  impartial  investigation  should  be  had 
under  the  provisions  of  the  statutes.  This,  I  believe,  should  be 
done  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  permanent  record,  if  for  no  other 
reason.  Business  is  suffering,  men  are  suffering,  the  general 
public  is  suffering.  I  believe  this  whole  matter  could  have  been 
settled  without  a  strike.  The  striking  employes  say  that  they 
have  at  all  times  been  wilUng  to  submit  every  point  of  dispute 
to  arbitration,  and  to  return  to  work  in  a  body  if  assured  of  a  fair 
and  impartial  arbitration  of  the  points  mentioned.  President 
Wattles  has  so  far  refused  to  submit  anything  whatever  to  arbitra- 
tion. " 


Chapter  XL 


THE  BUSINESS  MEN'S  ASSOCIATION 

It  is  proper  at  this  time  to  state  the  part  in  the  strike  which 
the  Omaha  Business  Men's  Association  had  taken  from  the  begin- 
ning. This  organization  was  effected  as  a  protective  organization 
against  unreasonable  demands  from  labor  unions  in  1903,  when  the 
city  and  many  of  its  industries  were  paralyzed  by  numerous  strikes 
that  had  been  called,  and  by  others  that  were  threatened.  At 
the  time  of  its  organization  nearly  every  business  man  of  any 
importance  in  the  city  of  Omaha  became  a  member.  Its  purposes 
and  principles  were  declared  in  the  following  language: 

"Declaration  of  Principles  adopted  April  20,  1903. 

"This  organization  is  known  as  the  Business  Men's  Associa- 
tion and  its  purpose  is  purely  defensive,  and  made  necessary,  as  it 
has  been  thought  by  the  various  corporations,  firms  and  individuals 
identified  with  it,  by  the  apparent  determination  upon  the  part 
of  the  labor  organizations  of  the  city  to  either  control  or  ruin  every 
business  enterprise.  The  great  object  of  the  association  is  to 
protect  its  members  in  their  rights  to  manage  their  respective 
businesses  in  such  lawful  manner  as  they  may  deem  proper  and 
expedient,  employing  such  help  as  seems  best  adapted  to  their 
purposes,  under  such  contract  as  is  mutually  satisfactory  to  the 
parties  concerned,  and  not  to  antagonize  any  individual  or 
organization. 

"  It  is  the  further  purpose  of  the  organization  to  maintain  the 
principle  that  every  man  has  certain  inaUenable  rights,  one 
of  which  is  to  seek  and  obtain  employment  upon  such  terms  as 
his  services  warrant,  in  order  that  he  may  support  himself  and  those 
dependent  upon  him.  The  organization  is  composed  of  the  prin- 
cipal business  institutions  of  the  city,  is  thoroughly  and  completely 
organized,  and  will  act  as  an  organization  in  defending  the  rights 
of  its  individual  members,  should  occasion  require.  The  organ- 
ization seeks  no  fight  with  organized  labor  in  any  form,  so  long 
as  its  own  rights  are  not  interfered  with. 

(IK) 


BUSINESS  MEN'S  ASSOCIATION  123 

"  Its  position  is  that  while  organized  labor  has  the  undoubted 
right  to  become  associated  together  for  any  lawful  purpose,  yet 
when  it  becomes  a  breaker  of  the  law  by  resorting  to  intimidation; 
threats  or  personal  violence,  the  picketing  and  boycotting  of 
persons  and  firms  who  are  unwilling  to  submit  to  its  dictation; 
when  it  becomes  an  obstruction  to  commerce  by  interfering  with 
the  lawful  pursuits  of  individuals  or  firms;  or  when  it  takes  upon 
itself  the  duty  of  chastising  persons  who  are  seeking  to  make  an 
honest  living  in  such  manner  as  seems  best;  that  it  then  becomes 
an  unlawful,  illegal  and  unpatriotic  combination  of  men  who  must 
be  met  with  whatever  organization  and  force  is  necessary,  in  order 
that  the  principle  of  this  government  may  be  maintained,  which 
guarantees  to  all  individuals  life,  hberty  and  an  opportunity  to 
secure  the  means  of  subsistence  in  such  manner  as  they  may 
elect." 

The  effective  work  done  by  this  association  in  preventing 
strikes,  and  in  settUng  those  that  have  been  declared,  has  had  much 
to  do  with  the  industrial  progress  of  this  city  from  the  date  of  the 
organization  of  the  association  down  to  the  present.  Contrary 
to  the  general  beUef  among  union  men,  the  association  is  not 
opposed  to  unions  as  such,  but  stands  for  the  open  shop. 

Before  the  strike  was  called,  the  president  of  the  street  rail- 
way company  appeared  before  the  executive  committee  of  the 
Business  Men's  Association,  with  Mr.  C.  O.  Pratt,  the  strike  leader, 
and  both  sides  of  the  controversy  were  stated  fully  to  this  com- 
mittee. After  hearing  these  statements,  and  questioning  Mr. 
Pratt  carefully  and  closely  regarding  the  demands  of  the  union, 
the  executive  committee  voted  unanimously  in  his  presence, 
endorsing  the  position  taken  by  the  street  railway  officials  in  refus- 
ing to  enter  into  a  contract  with  the  union.  It  was  at  this  meeting 
that  the  president  of  the  street  railway  company  offered  to  make 
substantial  concessions  in  writing  to  the  employes,  and  address 
the  communication  to  each  employe  individually,  which  offer  was 
refused  by  Mr.  Pratt. 

Immediately  after  the  strike  was  called,  a  general  meeting  of 
all  the  members  of  the  Business  Men's  Association  was  called  to  be 
held  in  the  Commercial  Club  rooms,  at  four  o'clock  Sunday  after- 
noon, September  19th.     At  this  meeting  the  matters  in  contro- 


124  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

versy  were  again  discussed  and  explained,  and  at  this  meeting  the 
position  taken  by  the  street  railway  ofl&cials  was  again  unanimously 
endorsed  by  the  full  membership  present. 

The  number  of  business  men  present  at  this  meeting  was  about 
260. 


Chapter  XII. 


EFFORTS  TO  SETTLE  THE  STRIKE 

The  time  having  expired  for  the  men  to  return  to  work,  under 
the  terms  proposed  by  the  company  and  endorsed  by  the  mayors 
and  committee  of  the  council,  and  the  company's  proposition  not 
having  been  accepted  ofl&cially  by  the  union,  a  number  of  business 
men,  whose  trade  had  been  seriously  affected  by  the  strike,  and  who 
looked  forward  to  a  greater  loss  of  trade  during  the  Ak-Sar-Ben 
celebration,  September  29th  to  October  9th,  became  alarmed  over 
the  situation. 

On  Tuesday,  September  28th,  an  editorial  appeared  in  the 
Omaha  Bee,  as  follows: 

TIME  TO  ARBITRATE. 

"Will  200,000  people  dependent  upon  adequate  street  rail- 
way service  sit  idly  by  while  a  disastrous  street  car  strike  is  fought 
out  through  mere  stubbornness  of  employer  and  employes? 

"  Will  the  business  men  of  three  cities  simply  look  on  while 
a  paralyzed  street  car  service  destroys  their  business  and  inflicts 
irreparable  injury  upon  the  good  name  and  standing  of  the  com- 
munity? 

"Will  Ak-Sar-Ben  permit  without  a  word  of  protest  the 
heavy  labor  of  a  year  and  the  outlay  of  $50,000  in  preparation  for 
the  fall  festival,  upon  whose  eve  we  have  arrived,  to  go  for  naught 
because  the  people  for  whose  entertainment  all  was  planned  can- 
not come? 

"  If  considerations  of  business  have  no  weight,  will  we  without 
an  effort  at  adjustment  suffer  helpless  women  and  children  to 
undergo  the  physical  exhaustion  of  compulsory  walking,  or  the 
exposure  to  injury  from  overcrowding  or  violence  if  they  attempt 
to  ride? 

"Will  we  wait  for  bloodshed  and  loss  of  life  before  we  act, 
or  will  we  call  a  halt  on  street  car  company  and  strikers  aUke  and 
insist  that  the  pubUc  has  some  rights  which  both  are  bound  to 
respect? 

**The  Bee  believes  the  time  has  come  to  arbitrate. 

"  As  the  conference  of  mayors  has  flunked,  only  one  way  seems 
to  us  to  remain  to  save  the  situation  in  time  to  prevent  still  more 
damaging  results. 

(18») 


126  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

'*The  street  car  company,  and  the  strikers,  should  be  com- 
pelled to  submit  to  arbitration  of  disinterested  third  parties. 

"  Let  an  arbitration  board  be  chosen  acceptable  to  both  sides. 
"  Refer  to  this  board  all  questions  at  issue  on  these  conditions: 
"1.    All  the  strikers  to  go  back  to  work  at  once. 
"2.    All  the  strike°breakers  to  be  sent  back  whence  they  came 

at  once. 

**3.    No  employe  to  be  dismissed  or  harassed  because  he  belongs 

to  a  union. 

"4.    No  employe  to  be  dismissed  or  harassed  because  he 

refuses  to  join  a  union. 

"5.    The  award  to  cover  everything  in  controversy  regarding 

wages,  hours  and  runs,  and  so  far  as  it  may  affect  wages  to  date 

back  to  the  day  the  men  return  to  work. 

"  Let  the  arbitration  board  be  charged  with  making  a  thorough 

investigation  of  conditions  of  street  railway  service,   hear  the 

grievances  of  the  men,  consider  the  interests  of  the  company  and, 

after  full  hearing,  bring  in  its  findings  without  undue  delay. 

"The  chief  obstacle  in  the  way  of  this  plan  is  to  secure  the 

arbitration  board.     As  we  have  no  law  providing  us  with  such  a 

board  ready-made,  one  must  be  improvised  by  mutual  agreement. 
"  For  a  starting  point  The  Bee  has  hastily  compiled  the  names 

of  forty  representative  business  and  professional  men,  who,  although 

not  consulted,  could,  we  beUeve,  if  they  would,  act  fairly  as 

arbitrators: 

10  RETAILERS.  10  WHOLESALERS. 

Robert  Cowell  Z.  T.  Lindsay 

C.  M.  WiLHELM  C.  H.  Pickens 

Joseph  Hayden  David  Cole 

O.  E.  Berg  T.  C.  Byrne 

Henry  Rosenthal  N.  Spiesberger 

Chas.  R.  Sherman  W.  L.  Yetter 

Morris  Levy  George  Cott 

Joseph  Frenzer  W.  C.  Bullard 

R.  S.  Wilcox  E.  M.  Andreesen 

Herbert  M.  Rogers  B.  F.  Marshall 

5  LAWYERS.  5  CLERGYMEN. 

John  L.  Kennedy  C.  W.  Savidge 

C.  J.  Smyth  F.  L.  Loveland 

A.  W.  Jefferis  Frederick  Cohn 

A.  C.  Wakeley  Father  McGovern 

F.  A.  Brogan  E.  H.  Jenks 

5  PHYSICIANS.  5  REAL  ESTATE. 

Robert  Gilmore  A.  C.  Kennedy 

Harold  Gifford  G.  W.  Morton 

F.  A.  Wearne  a.  L.  Reed 

R.  S.  Anglin  Byron  R.  Hastings 

J.  B.  Ralph  G.  N.  Hicks 


EFFORTS  TO  SETTLE  THE  STRIKE  127 

"From  these  names  the  strikers  ought  to  be  able  to  select 
twenty  who  would  be  acceptable  to  them. 

"From  the  twenty  thus  chosen  by  the  strikers  the  street  rail- 
way people  ought  to  be  able  to  select  five  who  would  not  be  objec- 
tionable to  them. 

"The  five  thus  selected  would  owe  it,  as  a  patriotic  duty  to 
the  community,  to  accept  the  grave  responsibilities  and  take  up 
the  task  as  soon  as  the  men  returned  to  work. 

"With  the  backing  and  support  of  the  whole  community, 
which  it  would  have,  such  an  arbitration  board  would  be  in  position 
to  enforce  its  findings,  and  not  only  put  an  end  to  the  present  strike, 
but  prevent  recurrence. 

"  Here  is  a  feasible  way  to  get  down  to  business. 

"  It  is  time  to  arbitrate. " 

This  editorial  was  no  doubt  endorsed,  if  not  inspired,  by  a 
number  of  merchants  who  saw  serious  losses  ahead  of  them,  if  the 
strike  continued. 

It  was  with  some  surprise  that  the  street  railway  officials 
learned  that  some  of  the  leading  merchants  of  the  city  were  endors- 
ing the  demand  for  arbitration.  A  meeting  of  the  leading  mer- 
chants of  the  city  was  therefore  called  at  the  office  of  the  president 
of  the  street  railway  company,  on  the  afternoon  of  September  29th. 
This  meeting  was  attended  by  about  thirty-five  of  these  merchants, 
and  the  position  in  which  the  company  had  been  placed  by  this 
demand  for  arbitration  was  thoroughly  discussed. 

It  was  explained  at  this  meeting  that,  whereas  the  strike  had 
been  called  for  the  purpose  of  forcing  the  street  railway  company 
to  recognize  the  union  and  enter  into  a  contract  with  it,  this  demand 
had  been  abandoned,  and  now,  as  the  first  step  to  arbitrate,  the 
demand  was  made  that  all  the  strikers  be  reinstated  in  their  former 
positions  without  prejudice;  that  immediately  after  the  strike  was 
called  the  officials  of  the  company  had  been  asked  by  the  non-union 
men,  who  did  not  leave  its  employ,  whether  or  not,  under  the  rule 
of  seniority  of  service  which  had  always  been  in  force,  they  were 
not  entitled  to  the  promotion  in  seniority  which  gave  them  choice 
of  runs  over  all  who  had  quit  the  service;  that  the  men  were  told 
that  this  rule  entitled  them  to  such  preference,  and  many  of  them 
had  remained  in  the  service  during  the  trying  ordeal  of  the  strike, 
with  the  express  understanding  and  with  the  knowledge  that  they 
were  to  have  the  runs  abandoned  by  those  who  went  on  a  strike; 
that  now  to  reinstate  the  strikers  in  their  old  places  would  be  an 
act  of  bad  faith  on  the  part  of  the  street  railway  officials,  which 


128  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

would  involve  the  rights  of  the  non-union  employes  in  a  manner  that 
they  had  no  right  to  do. 

These  business  men  were  further  told  at  this  meeting  that  any 
talk  of  arbitration  was  prolonging  the  strike,  and  increasing  the 
difl&culties  the  street  railway  officials  were  obliged  to  surmount 
in  order  to  end  it.  It  was  made  plain  to  these  merchants  that  there 
are  questions  which  honorable  men  cannot  afford  to  arbitrate, 
and  that  some  of  these  questions  were  involved  in  the  'present 
situation;  that  no  man  could  arbitrate  whether  or  not  he  would 
keep  his  promises  and  agreements  with  third  parties;  and  that 
under  no  condition  would  the  street  railway  company  consent  to 
arbitrate  the  questions  involved  in  this  strike;  and  that  to  continue 
the  discussion  and  agitation  for  arbitration  was  only  to  prolong  the 
losses  of  the  company,  as  well  as  those  of  the  merchants  of  the 
city. 

After  this  meeting  there  was  no  further  talk  of  arbitration. 

The  Board  of  Governors  of  the  Knights  of  Ak-Sar-Ben  held  a 
conference  with  the  board  of  directors  of  the  street  railway  com- 
pany, at  which  they  proposed  a  truce  during  the  Ak-Sar-Ben  cele- 
bration. They  stated  that  they  would  endeavor  to  have  the 
strikers  return  to  work  during  this  period,  and  let  the  fight  be  taken 
up  again  after  the  celebration.  This  seemed  impractical  to  the 
directors,  and  the  suggestion  was  discarded  by  them,  although 
the  strike  leaders  agreed  to  adopt  it,  provided  that  all  men  should 
be  reinstated,  and  that  the  company  should  agree  to  arbitrate 
any  differences  that  might  be  found  to  exist  at  the  close  of  the 
truce. 

This  ended  all  efforts  to  compromise  the  controversy  by  arbi- 
tration or  otherwise,  except  that  some  of  the  striking  employes, 
with  a  committee  of  labor  union  leaders,  called  on  the  president 
of  the  company  on  October  6th,  to  talk  over  the  situation.  Some 
misunderstanding  regarding  this  verbal  conference  resulted,  and  at 
a  second  meeting  a  written  memorandum  was  given  the  committee 
by  the  president  of  the  company,  to  the  effect  that  the  men  would 
not  be  received  back  into  the  employ  of  the  company  except  on  a 
non-union  basis,  and  that  the  rule  of  seniority  of  service  would 
not  be  changed.  No  action  was  taken  by  the  union  as  a  result  of 
this  meeting. 

From  that  time  forward  all  business  men  and  interested  par- 
ties settled  down  to  the  conviction  that  the  strike  must  be  fought 


EFFORTS  TO  SETTLE  THE  STRIKE  129 

out  to  a  finish.  A  large  number  of  old  employes  having  returned 
to  the  service  and  many  new  men  having  been  employed,  the 
strike-breakers  were  returned  to  their  homes  by  train  loads,  so  that 
by  October  13th,  all  of  these  strike-breaking  crews,  except  a  few 
men  who  had  shown  themselves  honest  and  proficient,  and  had 
expressed  a  desire  to  remain  in  the  permanent  employ  of  the  com- 
pany, had  been  returned  whence  they  came. 

Normal  conditions  were  speedily  restored.  Rioting  and 
assaults  ceased,  except  in  a  few  desultory  attempts  to  injure  the 
property  of  the  street  railway  company.  The  practice  of  hanging 
rocks  or  heavy  irons  attached  to  a  short  rope  from  the  trolley  wires 
in  dark  places,  so  arranged  that  the  rock  would  strike  the  front 
vestibule  of  the  cars  about  on  the  level  with  the  motorman's  head, 
became  quite  frequent,  and  several  operatives  were  seriously 
injured  by  this  inhuman  method  of  attack.  A  reward  of  $500, 
offered  by  the  company,  for  the  arrest  and  conviction  of  any  per- 
sons guilty  of  this  or  similar  acts,  put  a  stop  to  this  practice,  and 
very  soon  the  fear  of  assault  among  employes  passed. 

Regular  service  on  all  lines  was  so  completely  restored  by 
Monday,  October  4th,  that  the  crowds  attending  the  Ak-Sar-Ben 
festivities  during  the  week  were  taken  care  of  in  an  efl&cient  and 
satisfactory  manner.  The  business  of  the  community  resumed  its 
normal  conditions.  The  fear  of  the  merchants  that  their  trade 
would  be  seriously  crippled  during  this  week  proved  to  be 
unfounded.  The  Ak-Sar-Ben  festival  was  a  success  and  not  a 
failure,  as  had  been  prophesied  and  feared  by  the  Board  of  Gov- 
ernors. 


Chapter  XIII. 


ATTEMPTS  TO  PUNISH  BY  LEGISLATION 

The  strike  leaders  now  began  a  new  line  of  attack.  Through 
their  influence,  ordinances  were  introduced  before  the  city  council 
calling  for  a  reduction  of  the  fares  of  the  company.  One  ordinance 
provided  for  the  sale  of  eight  tickets  for  25  cents  during  certain 
hours,  another  one  for  the  sale  of  six  tickets  for  25  cents  during 
all  hours  to  adults,  and  twelve  tickets  for  25  cents  to  children. 
Mr.  C.  O.  Pratt,  as  reported  in  the  newspapers,  announced  glee- 
fully that  the  "  strike  has  only  just  begun,  and  the  street  railway 
have  not  yet  begun  to  awaken  to  what  is  going  to  happen  to  them 
before  we  are  through  with  them." 

An  ordinance  was  introduced  and  passed  by  the  city  council, 
over  the  veto  of  Mayor  Dahlman,  which  provided  for  the  licensing 
of  motormen  on  street  cars.  In  addition  to  the  payment  of  one 
dollar  license  fee  to  the  city,  it  required  motormen  to  be  trained 
for  two  weeks  by  men  who  had  been  in  the  employ  of  the  company 
for  three  years,  before  they  could  become  qualified  to  operate  cars 
in  the  city  of  Omaha.  This  ordinance  was  intended  to  prohibit 
the  operation  of  cars  by  strike-breakers,  and  in  effect  would  pre- 
vent the  street  railway  company  from  operating  any  cars  on  the 
streets  in  case  of  a  strike,  by  other  than  its  old  employes.  The 
ordinance  was  so  clearly  in  the  interest  of  union  strikers,  and  so 
flagrantly  exceeded  the  authority  of  the  city  council  to  regulate 
the  street  railway  service  under  the  laws  of  the  state,  that  the 
company  at  once  brought  injunction  proceedings  in  the  courts 
enjoining  its  enforcement,  and  announced  the  intention  of  contest- 
ing the  legality  of  this  or  any  other  ordinance,  that  might  be  passed 
for  the  purpose  of  punishing  the  company  for  the  position  it  had 
taken  in  connection  with  the  strike. 

Petitions  calling  for  a  referendum  vote,  on  the  question  of  six 
tickets  for  25  cents,  were  circulated,  and  signed  by  a  large  number 
of  people.  These  petitions  were  finally  filed  with  the  city  clerk, 
to  await  the  action  of  the  city  council  on  the  ordinances  intro- 
duced on  this  same  subject. 

(130) 


ATTEMPTS  TO  PUNISH  BY  LEGISLATION  131 

A  petition  was  filed  with  the  State  Railway  Commission  by 
three  citizens  of  Omaha,  asking  the  commission  to  ascertain  the 
physical  value  of  the  property  of  the  company,  to  reduce  its  fares, 
and  for  other  and  further  relief. 

In  these  numerous  attacks  on  the  street  railway  company, 
a  desired  opportunity  was  afforded  to  many  politicians,  who 
believed  this  to  be  the  psychological  moment  for  them  to  secure 
popular  favor  by  promoting  the  cause  of  the  strikers. 

A  petition  signed  by  more  than  1,200  of  the  leading  business 
men  of  the  city,  protesting  against  the  passage  of  the  ordinances 
to  reduce  the  fares  of  the  company,  and  the  appearance  before  the 
city  council  of  some  of  the  leading  business  men  of  the  city  to  voice 
their  protest  against  the  proposed  action,  brought  about  a  change 
of  sentiment  in  this  regard.  The  general  consensus  of  opinion  of 
the  property  owners  of  the  community  seemed  to  be,  that  it  was 
better  service  and  extension  of  Unes  that  this  growing  city  needed, 
rather  than  cheaper  fares,  and  that  this  was  no  time  to  seek  to 
punish  the  street  railway  company  for  fighting  a  strike  that  had 
been  forced  upon  it. 

The  ordinance  was  indefinitely  postponed  by  a  vote  of  eight 
to  four. 

The  city  attorney  rendered  an  opinion  that  the  referendum  had 
never  been  legally  adopted  by  this  city,  so  the  petitions  went  for 
naught. 

The  strikers  continued  to  issue  threats  against  the  company. 
These  threats  now  took  the  form  of  legal  and  legislative  rather 
than  physical  attacks.  On  the  evening  of  October  3rd,  Mr.  Pratt 
left  the  city  to  attend  the  national  convention  of  the  Amalgamated 
Association  of  Street  and  Electric  Railway  Employes  of  America. 
He  returned  only  for  a  few  days  after  the  convention  had  closed, 
and  during  these  few  days  he  was  sick  and  confined  to  his  hotel. 
His  statements,  however,  went  out  through  the  press  that,  from 
now  on,  the  attacks  against  the  company  were  to  be  along  the  lines 
of  demands  for  reduction  of  fares,  attacking  the  franchise  of  the 
corporation  and  by  other  means,  which,  he  promised,  in  due  time 
would  destroy  the  street  railway  company. 

A  short  time  thereafter,  Mr.  W.  D.  Mahon,  president  of  the 
Amalgamated  Association,  visited  Omaha,  and  in  a  speech  at  Wash- 
ington hall  is  reported  to  have  said  that  relief  for  the  street  railway 
strikers  must  come  through  their  activity  in  political  matters; 


132  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

that  both  the  Republican  and  Democratic  parties  were  corrupt  and 
not  in  sympathy  with  the  laboring  men,  and  that  they  must  find 
this  relief  in  an  independent  party  or  through  the  Socialist  party. 
He  announced  that  the  future  plan  of  warfare  against  the  street 
railway  company  would  be  by  legislative  and  legal  measures,  that 
would  be  brought  by  the  strikers  to  harass  and  annoy  the  street 
railway  management. 

The  labor  unions  of  Omaha  had  been  led  to  believe  that  from 
Mr.  Mahon  some  practical  suggestions  would  be  received.  He  was 
advertised  as  a  man  of  broad  business  capacity,  who  was  able  to 
see  a  situation  as  it  existed,  and  deal  with  it  accordingly.  Much 
disappointment  was  expressed,  among  all  classes  of  laboring  men, 
when  it  became  known  that  he  had  failed  to  comprehend  the 
situation  here,  or  give  any  practical  advice  to  the  much-deluded 
strikers,  who  had  lost  their  positions  by  following  the  advice  of 
the  under-ofl&cials  of  the  Amalgamated  Association. 

Mr,  Ben  Commons,  the  first  of  the  national  officers  to  come  to 
Omaha,  remained  in  charge  of  the  situation  until  December  1st, 
when  he  departed.  One  of  the  principal  newspapers,  in  announc- 
ing his  departure,  quoted  him  as  follows:  "The  strikers  are  now 
being  well  cared  for  by  regular  strike  benefits,  from  not  only  the 
international  organization  but  from  contributions  of  the  other  local 
unions  in  addition,  and  it  being  the  policy  of  the  organization  to 
carry  on  its  fights  to  the  finish,  the  strikers  are  in  position  to  wait 
until  it  is  done  through  an  attack  on  the  company's  franchise. " 

It  would  seem,  from  the  statements  of  these  national  ofl&cers, 
that,  because  of  their  failure  to  force  the  street  railway  company 
to  sign  a  contract  with  the  union,  after  a  disastrous  strike  had  been 
fought  out  under  their  advice  and  leadership,  if  their  threats  can 
be  carried  out  by  them,  the  people  of  this  community  are  to  be 
inflicted  with  a  further  conflict,  which,  if  successful,  would  greatly 
impair  the  service  of  the  street  railway  system,  would  retard  its 
expansion,  and  prevent  the  fruition  of  its  plans  for  a  better  service 
to  the  public  and  an  increase  of  wages  to  its  employes.  It  remains 
to  be  seen  whether  or  not  this  community  is  to  be  so  afl3icted  in  its 
future  development,  through  the  vindictive  plans  laid  by  these 
non-resident  agitators,  who  have  no  interest  whatever  in  the  future 
welfare  of  the  cities  served  by  the  corporation  they  seek  to  harass 
and  destroy. 


ATTEMPTS  TO  PUNISH  BY  LEGISLATION  133 

The  energies  of  the  strikers  during  the  fall  campaign  were 
directed  to  defeat  Sheriff  Brailey,  who  had  made  himself  obnoxious 
to  them  by  breaking  up  one  of  their  open  air  meetings  during  the 
strike.  The  Socialist  candidate,  Mr.  E.  I.  Morrow,  was  a  striking 
street  railway  conductor,  and  every  striking  union  man  and  the 
unions  generally  endorsed  his  candidacy  and  sought  his  election. 
The  result  of  the  ballot  showed  that  Mr.  Brailey  had  been  elected 
by  about  3,000  majority,  and  that  while  Mr.  Morrow  had  polled 
several  thousand  votes  more  than  the  regular  Socialist  ticket, 
yet  he  was  third  in  the  race,  having  received  less  votes  than  either 
the  Republican  or  Democratic  nominees. 


Chapter  XIV. 


THE  STRIKE-MAKER 

On  Sunday,  September  26th,  an  article,  and  an  interview  with 
Mr.  C.  O.  Pratt,  was  pubhshed  in  the  Omaha  Daily  News,  under  the 
head  "The  Strike-Maker — Pratt".  This  article  in  full  was  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  Who  is  this  man  C.  O.  Pratt  who  came  to  Omaha  and  started 
this  street  car  strike?" 

First  President  Wattles  of  the  street  railway  company  asked 
the  question,  and  then  the  echo  was  heard  from  thousands  of  dis- 
gruntled citizens  as  they  have  hiked  back  and  forth.  Some  drew 
their  own  conclusions  and  called  him  a  mere  "agitator,"  while 
others  were  so  harsh  as  to  dub  him  an  "  anarchist. " 

Pratt  is  simply  a  professional  strike-maker,  and  about  the  only 
real  type  in  existence.  He  admits  that  strike-making  is  his 
business. 

"A  strike  is  a  final  resort,"  he  says.  "First  is  conciUation; 
second,  arbitration;  third,  the  strike,  and  strike  hard  when  you 
strike  and  strike  to  win.  If  you  have  to  fight,  give  'em  the  best 
fight  you  have  in  the  shop. " 

This  man  Pratt  came  to  Omaha  about  two  weeks  ago  and 
wthin  a  few  days  the  strike  was  precipitated,  but  with  the  diplo- 
macy that  has  made  his  business  a  profession  he  now  cheerfully 
denies  that  he  ordered  it  and  the  strikers  agree.  The  strikers  to 
a  man  say  they  voted  for  the  strike  themselves. 

It  is  this  remarkable  power  that  he  has  that  makes  him  success- 
ful in  his  business.  When  everything  has  been  said  and  done, 
Pratt  does  not  stand  as  "the  agitator"  in  the  eyes  of  his  "boys," 
yet  he  is  a  fighter.  His  features  betray  the  fighter.  Every  line 
in  his  face  reveals  a  spirit  of  determination.  His  black  eyes  flash 
defiance,  when  he  is  defiant;  they  sparkle  kindly  in  his  peaceful 
moods.     Always  is  he  self-composed. 

This  strike-maker  is  not  an  esthetic  figure.  He  has  a  face 
lined  and  hard  like  that  of  the  legitimate  actor  in  the  cartoon. 
The  muscles  of  his  mouth  are  over-developed,  as  those  of  a  con- 
stant speaker.  His  expression,  his  eyes  far  apart,  a  frequent 
protrusion  of  his  lips,  suggests  the  portraits  of  the  late  Lawrence 
Barrett. 

He  is  a  man  of  medium  build,  there  being  nothing  to  indicate 
physical  strength.     He  is  forty  years  old  and  stands  about  five 

(134) 


THE  STRIKE-MAKER  135 

feet  and  ten  inches.  His  waving  black  hair  is  slightly  tinged  with 
gray  and  combed  nearly  in  the  middle.  His  clothes  are  Ught  gray 
and  characterless,  from  his  broad-toed  shoes  to  his  red  necktie. 

Pratt's  first  connection  with  labor  was  in  1893,  when  he  went 
to  Cleveland  and  became  a  motorman  on  a  street  car.  He  remained 
on  this  job  five  years  and  then  was  a  conductor  for  a  year.  When 
a  strike  came,  Pratt  became  active.  The  strike  lasted  eleven 
months  and  the  company  agreed  to  reinstate  all  its  old  employes 
but  one. 

"Who  is  he?"  asked  Pratt. 

"  Yourself,  sir, "  replied  the  railway  ofl&cial.  "  You  have  been 
too  active." 

The  young  man  made  no  threats  about  continuing  the  strike, 
but  looked  the  official  straight  in  the  eyes  and  said: 

"  Very  well,  sir,  leave  me  out — I  remain  on  a  strike. " 

And  he  did.  Ever  since  he  has  been  on  a  strike  and  has  struck 
hard.  Since  that  day  he  was  locked  out  in  Cleveland  he  has  been 
in  a  score  of  strikes,  and  it  is  declared  that  he  has  won  most  of 
them.  Taking  up  the  gauntlet  thrown  down  by  the  Cleveland 
railway  official,  Pratt  went  forth  to  battle  for  the  cause  of  conduc- 
tors and  motormen.  He  attended  the  national  conventions  of 
street  railway  employes,  and  is  now  chairman  of  the  international 
executive  committee  of  the  Amalgamated  Association  of  Street 
and  Electric  Railway  Employes  of  America. 

The  lot  of  Pratt  as  a  strike-maker  has  not  been  pleasant,  and 
he  has  been  made  to  earn  his  little  $6  a  day  and  expenses.  Numer- 
ous attempts  have  been  made  on  his  life  and  in  a  number  of  big 
strikes  he  has  been  black-jacked.  Also  he  has  been  arrested  and 
always  is  he  shadowed  by  detectives.  While  in  Omaha  two  detec- 
tives have  been  on  his  heels  almost  constantly.  The  two  sleuths 
are  known  to  Pratt,  who  has  played  a  number  of  practical  jokes 
on  them  and  takes  great  deUght  in  "ditching"  them  several  times 
a  day.  The  sleuths  are  registered  at  the  Murray  hotel  as  Davis 
and  Jackson,  and  to  a  newspaper  man  admitted  that  their  lay  was 
to  shadow  the  strike-maker. 

Once,  in  Baltimore,  Pratt  was  dogged  continually  by  a  mob 
of  detectives,  and  was  finally  landed  in  jail  and  the  authorities  tried 
to  "railroad"  him  to  the  penitentiary.  Similar  tactics  were 
resorted  to  in  the  recent  Philadelphia  strike,  which  he  handled 
successfully  for  the  carmen,  but  he  escaped  even  arrest. 

As  a  professional  strike-maker  and  manager,  Pratt's  course 
has  dotted  the  map  of  the  United  States.  After  being  locked  out 
at  Cleveland  he  went  to  Dayton,  then  to  Knoxville,  then  to  Nash- 
ville, then  to  Louisville,  then  to  Lexington,  then  to  Terre  Haute, 
then  to  Aurora,  Elgin  and  Marengo,  then  to  Chicago,  then  to  Butte, 
Ogden,  Salt  Lake  City,  then  to  San  Francisco,  then  to  Philadelphia 
and  now  he  has  Omaha.  Besides  these  places  he  has  a  number  of 
other  cities  and  towns  in  his  record.     In  many  instances  he  has 


136  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

been  instrumental  in  averting  strikes.  He  spends  his  time  in 
traveling  from  one  city  to  another,  but  does  not  always  bring 
about  a  strike. 

"  Where  we  can  get  results  for  the  boys  without  striking  I  am 
more  than  anxious  to  do  so, "  he  said.  "  Strikes  are  usually  just 
as  severe  on  the  men  themselves  as  on  the  companies." 

The  honesty  of  Pratt  is  never  questioned  by  the  union  men, 
who  have  read  in  several  magazines  about  his  experience  in 
Chicago,  where  he  had  a  chance  to  take  $5,000  for  himself  but  gave 
it  to  the  men  and  showed  up  the  bribers.  It  was  during  the 
struggle  at  Elgin  and  Aurora  that  the  incident  occurred,  according 
to  Pratt  and  others.  A  "friend"  offered  to  give  him  $5,000  for 
the  privilege  of  naming  one  of  the  arbitrators. 

"  I  told  the  fellow  to  meet  me  in  my  room  with  the  cash  and 
I  then  laid  the  trap  to  catch  the  'higher-ups,'  "  said  Pratt  in  relat- 
ing the  story.  "I  bored  holes  in  the  wall  and  had  four  reliable 
men  stationed  within  call.  When  the  fellow  produced  the  $5,000 
I  shoved  it  back  and  said  'I  don't  want  your  $5,000.'  That  was  the 
signal  for  the  four  men  to  rush  in. 

"  Of  course,  the  briber  disclaimed  ownership  of  the  $5,000,  so 
we  took  it  and  put  it  in  the  strikers'  fund.  I  got  the  money,  but 
did  not  get  the  men  higher  up." 

Pratt  declares  that  in  nearly  every  controversy  offers  of 
bribes  are  made  to  him  when  the  companies  are  put  in  a  hole.  He 
says  he  could  get  rich  quick  if  he  took  all  the  bribes  tendered  him, 
but  he  would  rather  take  his  $6  per  day  and  have  a  clear  conscience. 

"  My  life  work  is  for  the  street  car  men  and  there's  not  money 
enough  in  the  world  to  buy  me  off, "  he  asserted. 

Out  in  Salt  Lake  City,  Pratt  was  accused  of  dragging  "the 
church"  into  the  strike,  or  dragging  the  strike  into  "the  church." 
In  fact  he  admits  that  he  manipulated  the  trick,  as  President  Joseph 
Smith  of  the  Mormon  church  was  also  president  of  the  railway 
company.  He  says  after  exhausting  all  other  sources,  he  resorted 
to  the  potential  influences  in  the  Mormon  church,  and  the  result 
was  an  adjustment. 

"  What  are  the  essential  elements  of  a  strike?  "  was  asked  Pratt, 
and  he  said: 

"  Well,  you  have  got  to  take  into  consideration  the  condi- 
tions and  the  environments.  Often  there  is  a  strong  entrenchment 
of  power  with  which  you  have  to  deal.  There  are  two  essen- 
tials: It  is  necessary  to  get  together  an  army  of  soldiers  who  will 
have  confidence  in  you  and  who  are  willing  to  take  advice.  Too 
often  petty  jealousies  interfere  and  there  is  a  lack  of  harmony, 
and  success  is  limited.  But  build  up  your  own  foundation;  get 
the  case  properly  before  the  people.  That  is  the  second  essential. 
It  is  necessary  to  select  issues  that  will  appeal  to  the  general 
public,  regardless  of  the  question  of  unionism. 


THE  STRIKE-MAKER  137 

"Many  people  do  not  understand  that  the  trades  union 
movement  is  established  solely  for  the  elevation  of  the  working 
class,  and  to  obtain  for  the  working  men  and  women  more  humane 
treatment. 

"So  it  is  necessary  to  eUminate  that  question,  and  present 
only  such  issues  as  will  give  evidence  of  the  things  for  which  we 
are  fighting. 

"  When  I  have  selected  my  ground  for  a  fight,  I  never  allow 
the  injection  of  personaUties  or  other  side  issues  to  enter.  I  fight 
along  a  direct  line  and  go  after  the  things  I  set  out  to  get.  Other 
issues  are  usually  injected  for  a  purpose,  usually  to  divert  attention 
from  the  real  questions  at  issue,  and  whatever  is  said,  my  sole 
object  is  the  condition  of  the  men  and  the  things  they  are  after. 

"  You  must  endeavor  to  obtain  all  the  strong  influence  that 
will  give  you  support — that  will  stand  behind  you. 

"  One  of  the  first  things  I  demand  from  the  men  is  that  they 
refrain  from  the  use  of  intoxicants,  and  at  all  times  be  peaceful. 
Loud  and  profane  language  or  abuse  of  strike-breakers  will  not 
be  permitted.  We  must  show  the  pubUc  that  we  are  after  peace, 
and  during  a  struggle  must  at  all  times  be  good  citizens. " 

Experience  has  taught  Mr.  Pratt  all  the  tricks  of  the  game 
on  both  sides,  he  says.  He  says  he  knows  just  what  move  will  be 
made  next  by  the  railway  and  knows  just  how  to  meet  it.  The 
developments  in  Omaha,  he  says,  have  been  along  the  same  Unes 
as  those  in  other  cities. 

As  an  example  of  the  moves  in  a  strike  he  points  to  Phila- 
delphia. Usually,  he  says,  there  are  six  steps,  which  worked  out 
this  way  in  Philadelphia: 

Step  1 — The  company  says,  "  There  is  no  strike  and  cars  will 
run  just  as  usual. " 

Step  2 — "The  strikers  will  not  be  taken  back,  there  never 
will  be  any  arbitration,  and  the  full  service  is  being  rapidly 
restored. " 

Step  3 — "There  wouldn't  be  any  strike  if  it  wasn't  for  the 
Buttinskies  that  come  here  from  other  cities." 

Step  4 — "  We  could  settle  this  whole  matter  if  we  had  only 
our  old  men  to  deal  with." 

Step  5 — "  We'll  settle  with  our  own  men. " 

Step  6— "Settlement." 

"This  same  Une  of  action  has  practically  been  followed  out 
in  Omaha,  with  only  a  few  immaterial  variations, "  said  Mr.  Pratt 
Saturday  night.  "  With  each  move  I've  made  a  check  on  my  pro- 
gram, and  now  beUeve  settlement  probable." 

The  home  of  Mr.  Pratt  is  at  Welshfield,  O.,  where  he  has  a 
wife  and  three  children,  the  eldest  being  fourteen  years  old  and 
the  youngest  six  years  old.  When  he  is  oflBiciating  as  father  instead 
of  strike-maker  he  can  be  found  in  one  of  three  places — ^in  a  one- 
acre  field  that  he  devotes  to  agriculture;  in  the  library,  where  he 


138  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

has  an  interesting  collection  of  books,  or  in  the  yard  or  somewhere 
pla)dng  with  his  three  children. 

Each  night  before  he  goes  to  bed — and  that  is  often  at  two  or 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning — he  writes  a  letter  to  his  little  family. 
"  My  wife  is  deeply  interested  in  my  fight  for  labor's  cause  and  I 
keep  her  posted, "  he  said. 

But  the  life  business  of  this  professional  strike-maker,  as  he 
expresses  it,  is  "improving  the  conditions  of  the  street  railway 
employes  of  America. " 

"If  you  want  to  put  it  that  way,  no  town  is  safe,"  he  said. 
"  That  is,  no  town  where  the  men  get  less  than  twenty-five  cents 
an  hour.  If  I  can  get  to  a  town  like  that  and  get  any  chance  to 
build  up  a  union  and  a  demand  for  a  decent  wage  scale,  I'll  be  there 
on  the  first  train. 

"  I  tell  you  there  is  a  mighty  lot  of  satisfaction  in  feeling  that 
maybe  you've  done  something  for  your  fellow  man." 

It  should  be  noted  in  the  foregoing  article  that  one  of  the 
essential  elements  in  a  strike,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Pratt,  is  that  "it 
is  necessary  to  select  issues  that  will  appeal  to  the  general  public 
regardless  of  the  question  of  unionism".  It  is  evident  to  the  care- 
ful student  that  this  program  was  followed  by  him  in  the  Omaha 
strike. 

While,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  nearly  all  the  material  points  at 
issue  between  the  strikers  and  the  company,  which  the  union  had 
any  right  to  expect  to  have  granted,  were  offered  before  the  strike 
was  commenced,  and  again  during  its  progress — such  as  an  increase 
of  wages  within  a  reasonable  time,  the  employment  of  sufiicient 
extra  men  to  permit  regular  employes  to  have  time  off,  a  revision 
of  the  schedules  to  eliminate  objectionable  features,  and  the  pay- 
ment for  time  to  motormen  and  conductors  when  called  upon  to 
take  out  extras,  etc. — yet  these  questions  were,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  strike,  made  most  prominent  by  the  strikers  as  the  cause  of 
the  trouble.  In  their  circular  to  the  public,  and  in  subsequent 
interviews,  these  matters  were  kept  in  the  foreground,  while  the 
officials  of  the  street  railway  company  at  all  times  maintained  that 
the  strike  was  called  for  the  sole  purpose  of  forcing  the  company 
to  recognize  the  union  and  enter  into  a  contract  with  it;  contrary 
to  their  pledges  and  agreements  with  their  non-union  employes, 
that  they  would  not  at  any  time  enter  into  a  contract  with  the 
union;  and  contrary  to  the  agreement  with  the  officers  of  the 
union  itself,  made  when  the  union  was  organized,  that  no  such 
contract  would  be  required. 


THE  STRIKE-MAKER  139 

In  one  of  Mr.  Pratt's  many  published  statements  he  is 
quoted  as  saying,  regarding  this  agreement  with  the  non-union 
men:  "It  ought  to  be  broken,  for  his  agreement  with  them  was 
that  he  would  not  make  any  agreement  with  the  union  men. 
We  ask  the  public  to  help  us  force  him  to  break  his  agreement  with 
the  non-union  men,"  But  immediately  after  the  strike  was 
called,  it  became  evident  that,  in  this  community,  no  strike  could 
be  successful  that  was  waged  for  the  purpose  of  forcing  an 
employer  to  enter  into  a  contract  with  his  union  employes,  that 
would  make  it  impossible  or  disagreeable  for  non-union  men  to 
work  for  this  employer,  and  therefore  the  principal  arguments  that 
were  used  during  the  strike  were  along  other  Unes, 

In  a  later  interview,  Mr.  Pratt  is  quoted  as  follows:  "The 
fact  is,  the  company  is  making  a  false  issue.  We  are  not  asking 
for  a  'closed  shop.'  The  issue  is  one  of  bread  and  butter  and  hu- 
mane treatment."  However,  in  his  public  address  before  the 
mayor  and  city  council,  he  admitted  that  "  the  question  of  wages 
was  not  the  cause  of  the  strike. "  It  would  seem  that  in  this  strike 
this  labor  union  leader  adopted  the  policy  announced  in  the  pub- 
lished article,  entitled  "The  Strike-Maker — Pratt,"  to  arrange 
such  issues  as  in  his  judgment  would  best  appeal  to  the  sympathy 
of  the  public. 

Although  the  officers  of  the  Amalgamated  Association  of  Street 
and  Electric  Railway  Employes  of  America,  who  came  to  Omaha 
and  brought  about  the  strike,  at  all  times  claimed  that  they  came 
here  at  the  urgent  request  of  the  employes  of  the  street  railway 
company,  this  statement  has  been  denied  by  members  of  the  union, 
who  should  have  known  if  any  such  request  for  their  coming  had 
been  made.  It  is  a  fact  that  this  Amalgamated  Association,  with 
its  many  officers,  vice-presidents,  organizers  and  delegates,  is 
supported,  and  the  salaries  of  these  men  are  paid,  by  the  income 
received  from  the  monthly  assessments  paid  into  the  national 
treasury  by  the  workingmen  who  belong  to  street  railway  unions. 
It  is  evident  that  the  more  of  these  men  who  belong  to  these  unions, 
the  larger  the  income  of  this  national  association,  and  the  larger 
the  salaries  that  can  be  paid  to  these  national  ofiicers. 

On  account  of  the  increase  of  the  income  of  the  association 
during  the  past  year,  at  the  last  annual  meeting  of  the  association, 
held  at  Toronto,  Ontario,  in  October,  1909,  the  salary  of  W.  D. 
Mahon,  president  of  the  association,  was  increased  from  $2,500 


140  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

to  $5,000  per  annum.  It  is,  therefore,  not  unreasonable  to  con- 
clude that  these  national  officers  were  directly  interested  in  the 
establishment  of  a  large  and  successful  union  among  the  employes 
of  the  Omaha  &  Council  Bluffs  Street  Railway  company,  and  in 
securing  for  these  employes  a  contract  with  the  company  that 
would  insure  the  payment  of  the  monthly  dues  to  the  national 
association. 

One  of  the  paragraphs  of  the  contract,  presented  to  the  officers 
of  this  company  for  execution,  reads  as  follows: 

"  Any  member  of  the  Association  who  may  be  expelled  by  the 
Association  for  a  violation  of  any  of  the  rules  or  laws  of  the  Associa- 
tion, or  of  the  rules  or  regulations  of  the  company,  shall  be  dis- 
charged by  the  company  on  written  request  of  the  Association. " 

If  the  demand  for  the  execution  of  this  contract  had  been 
complied  with,  the  street  railway  company  would  have  been 
placed  in  the  position  of  a  collecting  agent  for  the  National  Associa- 
tion, in  that  it  would  agree  to  discharge  any  man,  however  pro- 
ficient his  services  might  be,  who  had  been  expelled  by  the  union 
for  a  violation  of  any  of  the  rules  or  laws  of  the  association,  includ- 
ing the  rule  requiring  this  member  to  pay  his  monthly  dues  to  the 
National  Association. 


Chapter  XV. 


STRIKEB-REAKERS 

In  the  Sunday  edition  of  the  Omaha  Daily  News,  of  September 
26th,  an  article  appeared  under  the  heading  "  The  Strike-Breaker — 
Waddell. "     This  article  in  full,  as  published,  was  as  follows: 

With  the  advent  of  the  professional  strike-maker  and  labor 
agitator,  of  necessity  came  the  professional  strike-breaker. 

No  longer  do  large  business  concerns  employing  large  numbers 
of  men  depend  upon  spasmodic  efforts  of  the  officials,  to  counteract 
sudden  and  unexpected  hostile  acts  of  the  employes,  to  maintain 
the  immense  plants  in  operation  pending  a  settlement  of  the 
points  in  dispute. 

The  professional  strike-breaking  firm  is  formed  to  meet  just 
such  contingencies,  and  large  corps  of  trained  men  are  maintained 
by  those  concerns  to  take  immediate  charge  of  any  situation, 
meet  all  occasions  that  may  arise  during  a  strike,  and  to  do  all  the 
worrying  for  the  attacked  business  concerns,  until  the  differences 
with  employes  are  arbitrated,  or  a  new  force  of  employes  is  organ- 
ized to  carry  on  the  permanent  work. 

With  the  first  hint  of  trouble,  conveyed  to  him  by  his  secret 
agents  among  the  employes,  the  up-to-date  general  manager  now- 
a-days  immediately  gets  in  touch  with  one  of  the  large  strike-break- 
ing concerns,  of  which  there  are  several,  informs  its  head  of  what 
he  expects  and  asks  for  assistance.  He  states  how  many  men  he 
will  need  if  a  walkout  is  declared,  and  asks  that  men  be  held  in 
readiness  to  ship  on  twenty-four  hours'  notice. 

The  organization  of  a  large  strike-breaking  firm  is  Uke  that  of 
an  army.  With  the  proprietors,  as  the  commanding  generals,  is 
a  force  of  subordinate  officials  always  "on  the  job",  and  who  are 
in  constant  touch  with  an  immense  force  of  volunteers,  who  can 
be  called  from  their  regular  employment  for  temporary  engage- 
ments at  any  time. 

A  call  is  received  for  so  many  hundred  or  thousand  men  for 
a  certain  line  of  work.  Immediately  the  strike-breaker  communi- . 
cates  with  his  Ueutenant  in  charge  of  that  particular  department, 
and  the  latter  consults  a  register  on  which  are  entered  the  names 
of  men  who  are  ready  and  willing  to  be  thrown  into  the  breach 
pending  a  settlement. 

(HI) 


142  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

Telegrams  are  sent  to  these  men,  or  the  general  managers 
of  the  firms  they  regularly  are  employed  with,  and  they  are  supplied 
with  transportation  to  assemble  at  some  point  within  short  distance 
of  the  place  of  trouble. 

Then  comes  the  second  call  that  the  strike  has  been  declared, 
or  is  to  be  declared  within  a  few  hours,  with  an  order  to  ship.  A 
corps  of  men  sufficient  to  meet  the  demand  immediately  is  started 
from  the  central  point,  sometimes  in  a  body,  but  as  often  in  small 
parties  traveUng  unobstrusively. 

With  the  men  go  a  force  of  cooks  and  assistants,  to  feed  and 
care  for  the  ones  who  are  to  actually  take  the  places  of  the  strikers, 
for  strike-breakers  of  necessity  are  clannish  and  do  not  mix  with 
the  public. 

Arriving  at  their  destination,  the  men  practically  go  into  camp 
in  the  shops  or  factories  in  which  they  are  to  work,  or  in  case 
of  street  car  or  railroad  strikes,  in  the  barns  and  round  houses 
of  the  concerns  they  are  to  assist.  There  their  life  when  not  on 
active  duty  is  the  hfe  of  the  soldier  in  barracks,  but  with  far  more 
strict  regulation  and  discipline,  and  at  the  same  time  better  pay 
and   provender. 

James  A.  Waddell,  of  the  strike  breaking  firm  of  Waddell 
&  Mahon,  of  New  York  City,  at  present  the  largest  strike-breaking 
firm  in  the  country,  is  handling  the  Omaha  street  car  strike. 

Brain  and  brawn  are  combined  in  this  man,  making  him  a 
typical  man  for  a  typical  job.  Big  and  burly,  he  is  capable  of 
enforcing  any  command  he  makes.  But  combined  with  this  is  a 
keen  brain  and  a  will  that  makes  failure  almost  an  improbabiUty. 

With  Waddell  in  Omaha  are  five  hundred  employes,  with  the 
necessary  equipment  of  managers  and  lieutenants.  While  Wad- 
dell is  coping  with  the  local  situation,  the  company  also  is  helping 
to  break  strikes  on  an  eastern  railroad;  in  a  large  eastern  city  for 
the  National  Biscuit  company,  and  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
country  for  an  association  of  brewers.  Some  of  Waddell's  army 
are  baking  biscuit,  while  others  are  brewing  beer,  and  still  others 
hammering  rivets  in  boilers  or  tugging  at  the  throttle  levers  of 
locomotives.  Forty-five  hundred  men  are  on  the  payroll  at  present, 
and  the  average  wage  paid  is  $5  a  day,  with  everything  furnished. 

"  Strike-breaking  as  a  regular  business  is  much  more  remunera- 
tive than  many  others,"  declares  Waddell,  "and  at  the  same  time 
it  is  much  more  interesting  and  exciting." 

Twelve  years  ago  Waddell  was  the  purchasing  and  employing 
agent  for  a  large  firm  of  government  contractors,  doing  a  business 
of  eight  or  ten  miUion  dollars  a  year.  Then  the  Interborough 
street  railway  strike  in  New  York  came  on,  and  Farley,  the  "  king 
of  strike  breakers,"  now  retired,  was  not  handling  street  car 
strikes.  August  Belmont  sent  for  Waddell,  and  asked  him  to 
take  charge  of  the  employment  of  men  to  break  the  strike,  and 
their  direction  during  the  trouble. 


STRIKE-BREAKERS  143 

Waddell  broke  in  with  Archibald  Mahon,  who  had  previous 
experience  in  strike-breaking,  by  handling  8,000  men  during  the 
Interborough  strike.  He  Uked  it  so  well  that  he  took  the  advice 
of  Belmont  and  other  New  York  business  men,  and  continued  in 
the  work  after  the  Interborough  strike  was  won.  Today  the 
firm  has  offices  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Boston  and  Chicago, 
and  the  payroll,  even  when  all  is  quiet,  is  $5,000  a  month. 

"  Three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  are  on  our  registers 
subject  to  call  for  strike-breaking,"  says  Waddell.  "These  men 
are  regularly  employed  by  large  concerns,  but  are  given  leaves  of 
absence  when  required  for  strike-breaking.  When  through  with 
a  job  they  return  to  their  regular  positions.  Many  of  our  men  have 
been  with  us  since  the  organization  of  the  business,  and  many  others 
came  to  us  from  Farley  when  he  retired.  Strike-breaking  is  a 
recognized  vocation,  popular  among  those  who  have  tried  it.  It 
requires  nerve,  judgment  and  perfect  control  of  the  temper,  also 
abstinence  from  chronic  indulgence  in  dissipation  in  any  form. 
The  pay  is  good,  ranging  from  $3  to  $10  a  day,  according  to  the 
demands  of  the  situation  to  be  met,  and  the  skill  required  to  fill 
the  positions.     The  average  wage  is  $5  a  day. 

"  But  the  strike-breaker  is  far  better  off  financially  than  the 
average  laboring  man  in  any  line.  When  on  a  job  everything  is 
furnished  him  that  he  requires — food,  tobacco,  reading  matter, 
medical  attention,  laundry  and  barbering.  A  strike-breaker 
leaving  New  York  for  a  place  on  the  west  coast  need  not  take  a 
cent  with  him,  and  will  not  be  called  upon  to  spend  anything  until 
he  returns  at  the  close  of  the  strike.  Everything  he  possibly  could 
desire,  and  that  he  will  be  allowed  to  have  under  the  rules  and 
regulations  all  are  required  to  observe,  is  furnished  him." 

The  men  on  the  job  in  Omaha  are  motormen  and  conductors 
from  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  company  and  the  Chicago  street 
railways.  All  with  the  exception  of  a  few  conductors,  new  to  the 
business,  have  regular  runs  with  the  companies  in  these  places. 
They  were  furnished  transportation  to  Omaha,  and  will  be  returned 
when  the  strike  is  over. 

The  wage  paid  them  is  $5  a  day,  with  ever)rthing  furnished, 
and  the  men  are  being  housed  and  boarded  at  the  Ames,  Vinton 
and  Harney  barns.  Individual  cots,  with  two  sheets  and  a  pillow, 
changed  three  times  a  week,  and  plenty  of  blankets  are  on  the  beds 
supplied. 

At  the  Vinton  and  Ames  barns  the  men  are  quartered  in  the 
rear  of  the  bams.     At  the  Harney  barn  on  the  second  floor. 

The  commissary  and  kitchen  department  comprise  regular 
hotel  ranges,  presided  over  by  cooks  regularly  in  the  employ  of 
the  strike-breaking  firm.  Meals  are  served  at  long  tables  covered 
with  white  oil  cloth,  and  the  menu  comprises  that  served  at  an 
ordinary  hotel.     Everything  is  of  the  best  quaUty. 


144  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

In  the  bunk  section  of  the  quarters  also  are  reading  and  card 
tables,  and  over  in  one  corner  is  a  barber  chair,  with  an  experienced 
barber,  who  shaves  the  men  and  cuts  their  hair  free  of  charge. 
At  the  reading  tables  are  all  the  latest  papers  and  periodicals,  and 
an  abundance  of  cigars  and  tobacco  is  furnished  to  help  while  away 
the  time. 

The  men  are  allowed  two  changes  of  linen  a  week,  laundered 
free  of  charge,  and  three  shirts.  When  not  on  duty  they  are 
required  to  be  in  quarters,  but  a  number  are  allowed  to  go  about 
town  on  a  pass  each  evening,  on  the  promise  that  they  will  not 
drink  or  indulge  in  discussion  of  the  strike.  Two  men  in  Omaha 
who  violated  the  pledge  were  summarily  discharged  by  Waddell 
Saturday  morning. 

Two  yellow  slips,  turned  in  by  the  lieutenants  in  charge  of 
quarters  at  the  Harney  barn,  told  the  story  of  the  falls  from  grace 
when  Mr.  Waddell  appeared  at  the  office  Saturday  morning.  The 
men  immediately  were  sent  for.  Both,  when  confronted  with  the 
report  sUps,  admitted  that  they  had  been  drinking,  and  one  pleaded 
that  he  needed  four  or  five  drinks  a  day  to  quiet  his  nerves. 

"  Discharge  them  both, "  said  Waddell  to  his  secretary,  after 
listening  to  the  excuses,  "  and  blacklist  this  man  who  can't  get 
along  without  liquor.     Men  who  drink  cannot  be  strike-breakers. " 

A  complete  hospital  equipment,  a  corps  of  physicians  and 
nurses,  and  an  ambulance  are  parts  of  the  outfit  for  handling  a  big 
strike,  according  to  Mr.  Waddell,  but  the  strike-breaker  does  not 
consider  the  Omaha  strike  a  very  big  event. 

"The  Omaha  strike  is  one  of  the  most  orderly  I  ever  have 
participated  in, "  says  Mr.  Waddell,  "  and  the  Omaha  police  depart- 
ment, with  the  number  of  men  available  for  duty,  has  handled  the 
situation  better  than  the  police  department  of  any  other  city  in 
which  our  firm  has  operated.  Where  the  police  department  is  not 
able  to  handle  the  situation,  we  bring  along  a  complete  hospital 
corps,  because  the  injured  men  cannot  be  sent  to  the  general 
hospitals,  where  they  are  subjected  to  annoyance  by  the  other 
patients.  No  hospital  corps  is  necessary  in  Omaha,  but  we  have 
a  physician  along  who  inspects  the  quarters  every  day,  and  who 
looks  after  the  health  of  the  500  men. " 

A  police  department  of  2,000  men,  drawn  from  the  retired 
policemen  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  is  a  part  of  the  organization 
of  the  strike-breaking  outfit,  supplied  where  the  local  authorities 
cannot  handle  the  strikers  and  request  outside  aid. 

"These  men,"  says  Waddell,  "coming  from  the  large  cities 
are  especially  trained  in  handling  crowds  and  riots,  but  are  rarely 
needed  except  in  the  small  manufacturing  t6wns  of  the  east,  where 
the  entire  population  sometimes  is  composed  of  the  strikers  and 
their  families. 


STRIKE-BREAKERS  145 

"  In  such  towns  we  also  furnish  our  own  commissary  supplies, 
for  our  patronage  of  a  local  merchant  would  mean  his  financial 
ruin  if  he  accepted  it,  as  he  would  be  forced  out  of  business  when 
the  strike  was  settled." 

Then  Mr.  Waddell  laughingly  recalled  the  effort  of  a  local 
laundry  to  secure  the  contract  for  the  strike-breakers  while  here. 

"That  man  doesn't  know  what  he  is  going  up  against  if  his 
regular  patronage  is  with  laboring  men,"  he  said.  "But  then,  it 
isn't  my  business  to  tell  him. " 

But  if  Waddell  couldn't  find  a  laundryman  to  do  the  work,  he 
would  have  a  force  of  laundry  workers  here  within  a  day,  and  it 
would  be  just  the  same  with  the  butcher,  the  baker  and  the  candle- 
stick maker.  What  other  people  will  not  do  for  the  strike-breakers 
they  do  for  themselves. 

"Strike-breaking  isn't  the  only  vocation  of  the  Waddell- 
Mahon  corporation,"  declares  Waddell.  "Strike-settling  is  just 
as  important  and  far  more  agreeable. 

"This  department  takes  charge  of  negotiations  between 
employers  and  employes,  when  a  strike  is  threatening,  and  so  far 
has  settled  without  a  strike  every  such  difficulty  referred  to  it. 
Every  large  strike-breaking  firm  now  has  a  strike-settling  depart- 
ment, and  they  generally  are  used  by  large  eastern  concerns  when 
it  comes  to  making  new  agreements  with  their  men,  or  drafting  new 
wage  schedules. " 

Waddell  and  his  strike-breakers  will  fade  away  as  unobtru- 
sively as  they  came  to  town,  when  the  present  strike  is  settled 
and  the  men  go  back  to  work.  Some  will  return  directly  to  their 
homes  and  regular  jobs,  while  others  will  go  on  to  other  troubles 
between  employers  and  employes. 

Regarding  the  strike-breakers,  Waddell  and  Mahon,  it  can  be 
truthfully  said  that  they  acted  with  promptness  and  dispatch, 
after  being  requested  to  furnish  500  experienced  conductors  and 
motormen,  for  service  on  the  Unes  of  the  Omaha  &  Council  Bluffs 
Street  Railway  company  during  the  continuance  of  the  strike. 
The  first  detachment  of  128  men  arrived  from  Chicago  on  Sunday 
morning,  September  19th,  twenty-four  hours  after  the  strike  had 
been  in  operation.  Other  detachments  came  from  New  York 
as  soon  as  the  trains  could  bring  them,  after  the  order  had  been 
given  for  their  shipment.  The  most  of  these  men  were  experienced 
in  the  line  of  work  required  of  them,  and,  as  soon  as  they  were 
quartered  at  the  three  principal  car  barns  of  the  company,  were 
placed  under  the  charge  of  lieutenants  or  under-bosses,  from  whom 
they  received  their  orders  while  they  were  on  duty.  These  lieu- 
tenants and  bosses  had  evidently  been  selected  because  of  their 
special  abihty  to   enforce  their   orders  to  the  men   by  physical 


146  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

prowess,  if  necessary.  Several  combats  between  the  men  them- 
selves were  quelled  by  these  lietuenants,  who  were  always  able 
to  knock  down  and  subdue  any  who  refused  or  neglected  to  obey. 

In  nearly  all  cases  reported,  the  operatives  were  brave  and 
always  ready  to  defend  themselves  and  the  property  of  the  com- 
pany against  mobs  or  individuals,  who  in  any  manner  interfered 
with  the  operation  of  the  cars.  One  of  the  most  common  causes 
for  trouble  was  the  refusal  of  some  passengers  to  pay  their  fare  to 
the  strike-breaking  conductors.  In  such  cases  the  motorman  was 
generally  called  by  the  conductor.  He  promptly  responded  by 
stopping  the  car,  and  coming  to  the  passenger,  trolley-controller 
in  hand,  would  notify  him  in  a  gruff  and  positive  way  to  either 
pay  his  fare  or  be  put  off  the  car.  In  most  cases  the  fare  was  paid, 
but  in  cases  where  further  refusal  was  made,  the  passenger  was 
unceremoniously  put  off  the  car. 

These  strike-breakers  paid  no  attention  to  the  continual  wordy 
abuse  of  passengers.  To  be  called  "  scabs"  seemed  not  to  disturb 
them  in  the  least,  but  they  did  not  permit  passengers  on  the  cars 
to  ride  without  paying  their  fares,  nor  did  they  submit  to  any 
personal  violence  from  any  of  the  passengers.  They  were  gener- 
ally ready  for  trouble,  and  did  not  seek  to  avoid  personal  contact 
with  anyone  who  attempted  to  assault  them. 

In  some  cases  where  mobs  congregated  and  where  trouble  was 
imminent,  some  of  these  conductors  and  motormen  left  their  cars 
and  escaped  in  the  crowds,  but,  generally  speaking,  they  remained 
on  the  cars  and  fought  their  way,  where  necessary,  to  the  end  of 
their  routes.  Some,  but  not  many,  of  these  strike  breakers  were 
injured  in  riots.  Fortunately,  no  one  was  killed  nor  permanently 
injured.  In  many  cases  the  strike-breakers  were  armed,  but  as 
a  rule  they  did  not  display  their  arms,  and  only  one  or  two  cases 
of  the  use  by  them  of  fire  arms  were  reported.  In  all  ordinary 
conflicts,  they  effectively  used  the  iron  switch  rods  or  the  trolley 
controllers  on  the  cars  when  attacked. 

Many  amusing  incidents  were  told  by  the  newspapers  regard- 
ing the  actions  of  these  strike-breakers  during  their  service.  Of 
course,  when  they  first  arrived  they  did  not  know  the  names  of 
the  streets,  and  at  the  beginning  the  company  did  not  have 
sufficient  old  men  to  send  out  to  instruct  them  just  where  their 
cars  were  to  run,  so  that,  during  the  first  few  days,  some  of  the  cars 
were  switched  on  to  the  wrong  lines.     One  case  is  reported  of  a 


STRIKE.  BREAKERS  147 

Farnam  street  car,  running  north  on  10th  street,  being  switched 
on  to  the  Harney  street  line.  The  conductor  was  asked  by  a 
passenger  if  this  was  not  the  Farnam  street  car.  He  replied  pleas- 
antly that  it  was.  The  passenger  then  asked  if  they  were  then  on 
Farnam  street.  The  conductor  went  forward  and  talked  with 
the  motorman,  and  came  back  and  admitted  to  the  passenger  that 
he  did  not  know  what  street  he  was  on,  but  would  find  out  when  he 
came  to  the  next  car  barn.  He  secured  this  information  at  the  barn 
at  Twentieth  and  Harney,  and  in  due  time  his  car  was  switched 
back  on  to  the  right  street. 

The  strike  breakers  were  an  accommodating  lot.  On  one 
occasion,  a  Park  car  on  Leavenworth  turned  south  on  Park  avenue, 
but  when  a  large  number  of  the  passengers  signified  their  intention 
to  transfer  to  the  West  Leavenworth  line,  the  train  crew  backed 
the  car  to  the  switch,  and  turned  it  west  on  Leavenworth  street. 
Some  of  the  passengers,  who  had  alighted,  again  boarded  the  car 
and  asked  the  conductor  why  he  was  going  out  on  Leavenworth. 
He  replied:  "You  see,  most  of  the  passengers  wanted  to  go  out 
on  Leavenworth,  and  as  we  had  never  been  out  on  that  line  before, 
we  thought  we  would  go  out  and  see  the  country.  How  far  is  it, 
anyhow,  out  to  the  end  of  this  line?" 

An  east  side  Park  car  turned  west  at  the  switch  at  Park 
avenue  and  Pacific  street.  When  the  passengers  protested  that 
the  car  was  going  on  the  wrong  track,  the  conductor  backed  up 
and  was  about  to  proceed,  when  a  woman,  who  had  said  she  wanted 
to  get  ofif  at  Mason  street,  told  the  conductor  that  they  had  already 
passed  Mason  street  one  block.  He  backed  the  car  up  a  block 
for  her  convenience,  and  then  went  on  south  on  Park  avenue. 

A  loaded  special  car,  that  should  have  stopped  at  Fortieth  and 
Farnam,  was  run  on  through  to  Dundee  for  the  convenience  of  the 
passengers.  They,  however,  were  obliged  to  pay  an  extra  fare  to 
the  conductor  before  he  would  take  them  on.  None  of  the  fares 
paid  were  registered  by  him;  in  fact,  very  few  of  the  fares  were 
registered  by  the  conductors.  In  one  case,  the  register  had  been 
clogged  up  with  a  nail  so  that  it  could  not  be  used.  In  many 
instances,  passengers  refused  to  pay  their  fares  unless  the  conduc- 
tor would  register  them.  In  some  instances,  the  passengers  them- 
selves pulled  the  register  cord,  and  not  only  registered  their  own 
fares  but  many  others. 


148  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

Three  school  girls  boarded  the  car  at  Sixteenth  and  Daven- 
port streets,  and  refused  to  pay  their  fares,  because  the  conductor 
was  not  registering  the  fares  he  collected.  In  this  case,  the  con- 
ductor let  them  ride,  but  when  they  wanted  to  get  off,  he  refused 
to  stop  the  car  to  let  them  off.  One  of  them  caught  the  register 
cord  and  began  registering  fares,  and  continued  it  until  the  con- 
ductor stopped  the  car  and  let  them  off. 

It  was  reported,  but  not  verified,  that  one  crew,  who  learned 
that  the  fare  was  ten  cents  on  the  Bridge  line  to  Council  Bluffs, 
started  to  switch  their  car  on  to  this  line,  in  order  that  they  might 
get  some  of  the  ten  cent  fares,  instead  of  the  five  cent  fares  they 
were  obliged  to  take  in  Omaha,  But,  not  being  acquainted  with 
the  switches,  they  were  not  able  to  get  their  car  on  to  this  line. 

A  crew  on  the  Florence  line,  discovering  when  near  Fort 
Omaha  that  it  would  be  too  late  for  them  to  take  the  load  of 
passengers  to  Florence  and  get  back  to  the  barn  before  dark, 
notified  the  passengers  that  they  must  leave  the  car.  This  the 
passengers  refused  to  do,  and  when  the  crew  left  the  car  standing 
on  the  track,  one  of  the  passengers  took  charge  of  the  trolly,  and 
it  was  run  to  Florence  and  left  on  the  track  there. 

These  conductors  knew  nothing  about  the  correct  issuing  of 
transfers,  so  transfers  were  freely  given,  and  were  accepted  on  any 
line  they  were  presented.  In  some  cases,  conductors  gave  passen- 
gers several  transfers,  that  they  might  have  for  future  use. 

Some  ladies  boarded  a  Farnam  street  car,  and  asked  if  it 
ran  to  Fortieth  and  Cuming. '  The  conductor  said:  "Bless  you, 
I  don't  know  where  Fortieth  and  Cuming  is.  I  was  told  to  take 
this  car  out  and  follow  the  track;  that  is  what  I  am  doing." 

Some  other  passengers  asked  if  a  car  ran  to  the  depots.  The 
conductor  politely  said:  "You  will  have  to  stay  on  and  see;  I 
don't  know  exactly  where  the  car  does  run  to." 

A  lady  passenger  on  one  of  the  lines  gave  the  conductor  a 
fifty-cent  piece  in  payment  of  her  fare.  He  gave  her  back  a  twenty 
five-cent  piece,  and  slowly  and  carefully  counted  out  to  her  five 
nickels.  She  took  the  money  without  comment,  and  quickly  put 
it  in  her  purse.  A  passenger  who  sat  beside  her,  thinking  that  the 
conductor  had  made  a  mistake  in  giving  her  back  the  full  amount 
in  change  of  the  money  she  had  paid  him,  stepped  out  on  the  plat- 
form and  said  to  the  conductor:  "  Don't  you  know  that  you  gave 
that  lady  back  fifty  cents  in  change  for  the  fifty-cent  piece  she 


STRIKE-BREAKERS  149 

gave  you?"  The  conductor  replied:  "Yes,  I  know  it,  and  she 
knows  it,  too,  but  she  may  have  some  trouble  in  passing  that 
quarter  I  gave  her. " 

As  a  rule,  very  few  of  the  fares  were  registered  by  these  strike- 
breaking conductors.  There  were  some  exceptions,  and  some 
of  the  men  faithfully  rang  up  all  the  fares  they  collected.  These 
were  men  who  wanted  to  remain  as  permanent  employes  of  the 
company.  The  others,  regardless  of  the  criticism  they  received 
on  every  hand,  refused  to  ring  up  fares  or  to  turn  them  in  at  the 
barn.  They  paid  no  attention  to  the  officers  of  the  company,  and 
on  one  occasion  when  General  Manager  Smith  was  on  the  car,  the 
conductor  was  told  that  Smith  was  the  general  manager  of  the 
road.  He  took  hold  of  the  register  and  rang  up  three  fares,  with 
the  remark,  "We'll  take  fifteen  cents  on  Smith."  Frequently, 
the  registers  on  cars  on  which  there  were  fifty  passengers  would 
show  that  only  three  or  four  had  been  registered. 

The  strike-breakers  were  liberal  with  the  company's  money, 
often  giving  it  to  the  strikers  themselves.  During  the  parade  of 
the  strikers,  one  of  the  strike-breaking  conductors,  as  he  passed 
the  parade,  handed  a  nickel  to  each  one  of  the  strikers.  They  had 
no  regard  whatever  for  rules  or  regulations,  knowing  that  they 
would  not  be  discharged.  They  frequently  remarked  to  passen- 
gers that  they  were  hired  to  run  the  cars,  not  to  collect  fares. 
Few  passengers  rode  without  paying  at  all,  but  very  little  of  the 
money  collected  by  the  strike-breakers  reached  the  treasury  of 
the  company;  but,  as  a  rule,  they  were  a  jolly  lot  of  disreputables. 
They  could  and  did  operate  the  cars  successfully.  They  did  not 
know  the  sensation  of  fear,  and  were  always  ready  for  a  fight. 

An  heroic  incident  occurred  during  the  riot  on  September 
21st,  near  the  Vinton  street  barn.  A  strike-breaking  conductor 
had  a  woman  and  child  on  his  car  when  the  brick  bats  and  stones 
began  to  fly  through  the  windows.  He  stopped  the  car  and,  in 
the  face  of  an  angry  mob,  took  the  woman  and  child,  shielding  them 
from  the  blows  of  the  rioters  with  his  own  body,  until  he  had  landed 
them  safely  on  the  sidewalk.  He  then  fought  his  way  back  to  his 
car,  where  he  was  assaulted  again  and  again,  and  beaten  almost 
into  insensibiUty  before  he  finally  reached  the  Vinton  street  barn. 
But  he  stuck  to  his  post,  like  the  hero  that  he  was,  and  when  the 
fight  was  over,  by  no  word  or  act  of  his  did  he  indicate  that  he 
had  done  anjrthing  worthy  of  mention.     When  asked  for  the 


150  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

details  of  this  encounter,  he  refused  to  say  anything,  except,  "I 
stuck  to  her  until  I  landed  her  in  the  barn. " 

The  scene  in  the  Vinton  street  barn,  where  a  large  number  of 
strike-breakers  were  confined  on  the  evening  of  the  riot,  has  been 
described  by  those  who  saw  it  as  most  remarkable.  When  the 
cars  began  coming  into  the  barn,  showing  the  evidences  of  the  riot 
by  broken  windows  and  bleeding  crews,  the  effect  on  these  men — 
the  comrades  of  the  men  who  had  been  attacked — was  electrical. 
From  all  descriptions,  it  acted  as  does  the  scent  of  blood  on  the 
wild  beast.  The  lieutenants  quickly  called  to  their  assistance 
twenty-five  of  the  strongest  of  the  strike-breakers,  and  armed  them 
with  controllers  from  the  cars,  not  for  the  purpose  of  keeping 
the  rioters  from  coming  into  the  barn  and  attacking  these  men, 
but  to  prevent  the  men  from  going  out  of  the  barn  to  attack  the 
rioters,  who  were  gathered  in  great  numbers  in  that  vicinity.  The 
guards  formed  in  solid  lines  between  the  men  and  the  doors.  The 
men  begged  and  pleaded  with  the  guards  and  the  officers  of  the 
law,  who  were  present,to  be  allowed  to  go  out  and  put  down  the  riot. 
They  explained  to  the  officers  that  they  knew  just  how  to  do  it, 
and  that  if  they  would  let  even  a  dozen  of  them  go  out  among  the 
rioters,  they  would  have  them  dispersed  in  short  order. 

No  doubt,  this  meeting  and  other  similar  meetings  were  planned 
for  the  purpose  of  exciting  these  strike-breakers  into  an  open  attack 
on  the  men  engaged  in  rioting,  that  would  result  in  great  bodily 
injury  and  possibly  murder.  But  it  was  the  determined  purpose 
of  the  street  railway  officials,  and  their  positive  instructions  to 
the  strike-breakers'  leaders,  that  under  no  provocation  should 
these  men  be  permitted  to  attack  or  assault  citizens,  even  though 
they  were  engaged  in  rioting.  On  this  special  occasion,  at  the 
Vinton  street  barn,  it  seemed  for  a  time  impossible  to  hold  the  men 
in  confinement,  while  their  associates  were  being  assaulted  on  the 
outside.  One  big,  burly  lieutenant,  who  saw  an  Italian  immediate- 
ly across  the  street  throw  a  brick  through  the  window  of  a  car 
loaded  with  women  and  children,  quietly  slipped  away  from  his 
post  of  duty,  crossed  over  the  street,  and,  with  one  dexterous  blow 
under  the  heart  with  the  controller,  the  ItaUan  was  dropped  un- 
conscious on  the  spot  where  he  stood.  The  lieutenant  leisurely 
walked  back  to  the  deputy  sheriff,  who  had  seen  him  administer 
this  summary  punishment,  and  remarked,  "If  you  would  only 
let  a  dozen  of  us  go  out  among  these  cowards,  we  would  have  them 


STRIKE-BREAKERS  151 

dispersed  in  no  time."  But  the  order  was  positive  that  they 
must  remain  in  the  barn,  and  with  this  single  exception  it  was  not 
disobeyed. 

It  is  a  very  difficult  matter  to  record  a  word  of  criticism 
against  these  strike-breakers,  who  displayed  so  many  loyal  and 
commendable  qualities  under  stress,  in  a  period  of  great  excite- 
ment and  much  provocation.  They  stole  the  fares  of  the  com- 
pany with  the  abandon  of  hardened  thieves,  but,  as  a  rule, they  pro- 
tected its  property  and  the  passengers  in  their  charge  with  the 
loyalty  of  veteran  soldiers.  So,  whatever  their  faults  might  have 
been,  they  were  forgotten  by  the  officials  of  the  company  and  by 
the  public  generally.  It  was  said  that  the  conductors  divided  their 
collections  with  the  motormen,  and  again  with  the  lieutenants  at 
the  barns,  who,  if  all  reports  were  true,  were  as  corrupt  as  the 
operating  men.  It  is  said  that  some  of  these  lieutenants  demanded 
two  dollars  from  each  conductor,  before  he  was  sent  out  on  his  run 
to  collect  this  money  back  from  the  public.  It  was  hinted  that 
the  leaders  of  the  union  and  of  the  strike-breakers  were  in  collusion, 
and  worked  together  for  the  profit  of  both.  It  was  reported  that 
these  leaders  were  seen  together  on  certain  occasions,  in  conference 
over  the  progress  and  possibly  the  prolongation  of  the  strike,  but 
no  positive  evidence  of  these  reports  was  ever  produced,  although 
rumors  flew  thick  and  fast,  and  these  rumors  were  believed  by  many 
who  heard  them. 

However  this  may  be,  one  lesson  of  this  strike  to  the  officers 
of  the  street  railway  company  was  made  very  plain — that  the 
whole  system  of  strikes  and  strike-breaking,  by  professionals  en- 
gaged in  these  two  lines  of  civil  warfare,  is  wrong  and  wasteful  in 
the  extreme.  If  strikes  must  occur,  and  it  seems  that  they  must, 
so  long  as  the  labor  agitator  is  permitted  to  follow  his  vocation 
unchecked  by  the  laws  of  the  land,  then  the  street  railway  com- 
panies, in  danger  of  losses  incident  to  this  lawless  work,  should 
organize  to  protect  themselves. 

An  organization  could  easily  be  effected  among  the  principal 
street  railway  companies  of  the  country,  whereby  each  would  agree 
to  furnish,  in  case  of  strike,  its  pro  rata  number  of  experienced 
men,  to  go  to  the  city  where  a  strike  was  about  to  take  place,  and, 
under  the  proper  officers  of  this  organization,  take  charge  of  the 
operation  of  the  cars  abandoned  by  the  strikers.  Fifty  or  one 
hundred  brave  and  efficient  men  could  be  found  among  the  opera- 


152  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

tives  on  any  road  in  the  country,  where  five  hundred  or  more  men 
are  employed,  who  would  be  willing  to  enlist  for  such  service,  they 
to  be  excused  from  their  regular  duties  by  their  home  companies 
during  their  absence,  and  to  receive  as  compensation  for  their 
work  all  expenses  and  ten  dollars  per  day  for  the  time  of  their 
service. 

Such  an  organization  among  the  principal  street  railway  com- 
panies of  the  country  would  prove  an  effective  standing  army,  and 
would  prevent  many  strikes,  which  are  often  precipitated  because 
of  the  knowledge  of  the  strike-makers  that  no  adequate  means 
is  at  hand  to  conduct  the  business  of  the  street  railway  company 
when  a  strike  has  been  declared. 


Chapter  XVI. 


LOYALTY  REWARDED— VIEWS  OF  THE  MEN 

Twenty-five  days  after  the  strike  in  Omaha  had  been  declared, 
sufl&cient  regular  employes  had  returned  to  the  service  of  the  com- 
pany, with  the  new  men  who  had  been  employed  and  put  into 
service,  to  make  up  a  full  crew  of  operatives,  and  the  last  of  the 
strike-breakers  were  sent  back  to  their  homes.  From  that  time 
forward  the  strike,  so  far  as  the  company  was  concerned,  was  at 
an  end. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  street  railway 
company,  held  on  October  4th,  for  the  purpose  of  rewarding  con- 
ductors and  motormen  who  had  remained  in  the  service  of  the 
company  during  the  strike,  the  duration  of  the  strike  was  officially 
fixed  at  fifteen  days — from  September  17th  to  October  2nd.  By 
resolution  of  the  board,  the  general  manager  was  authorized  to 
pay  to  each  regular  conductor  and  motorman  who  reported  for 
duty  during  this  time  five  dollars  extra  per  day  for  each  day  he 
reported,  and  five  dollars  per  day  additional  for  each  day  during 
the  strike  on  which  regular  conductors  and  motormen  took  out 
cars.  To  those  operatives  who  worked  during  the  full  term  of 
the  strike,  this  award  amounted  to  $150  each.  To  those  who 
worked  for  a  part  of  the  time  the  amount  was  less,  but  the  paying 
of  this  reward  was  a  source  of  great  satisfaction  to  the  officers  of 
the  company  and  the  pubUc  generally,  and  especially  to  the  men 
who  received  it. 

Much  favorable  comment  was  made  by  the  press  and  other- 
wise on  the  Uberality  of  the  company  in  this  regard.  Soon  there- 
after, the  road  officers  and  barn  foremen  were  each  paid  the  sum  of 
$200,  as  a  token  of  appreciation  of  the  company  for  their  loyal 
service.  Others  who  had  been  especially  faithful  in  their  services 
were  rewarded  accordingly. 

To  secure  a  fair  expression  from  the  employes  of  the  street 
railway  company  regarding  certain  subjects  concerning  the  strike, 
the  president  of  the  company,  on  November  8th,  addressed  the 

(IM) 


154  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

following  letter  to  twelve  of  the  men  who  were  in  the  employ  of 
the  company  at  the  time  of  the  strike,  one  half  of  them  union  men 
and  one  half  non-union.     This  letter  read  as  follows: 

"Omaha,  Neb.,  Nov.  8,  1909. 
"Dear  Sir: 

For  future  reference  I  am  preparing  a  history  of  the  recent 
street  railway  strike.  In  order  that  it  may  correctly  represent 
the  views  of  all  parties  concerned  I  am  asking  several  old  employes 
of  this  company  to  write  me  letters  expressing  their  views,  which 
letters  will  be  published  as  a  part  of  the  history. 

"I  would  like  to  have  you  write  me  a  letter  in  your  own 
language  which  will  state: 

"  The  length  of  time  you  have  been  in  the  employ  of  the 

company; 
"  In  what  capacity,  whether  conductor  or  motorman; 
"Whether  or  not  you  joined  the  union  among  the  employes; 
"If  you  did  join,  or  did  not  join,  what  were  the  motives 

which  inspired  you  to  make  the  decision; 
"  What  has  been  your  experience  with  the  company  regard- 
ing any  causes  of  complaint; 
"  If  you  have  had  any  ground  for  complaint  in  the  past,  please 
state  what  was  the  nature  of  this  complaint  against  the 
treatment  you  have  received  from  the  officers  of  the 
company. 
"  What  in  your  judgment  was  the  general  condition  a  month 
before  the  strike  was  called  among  the  conductors  and 
motormen? 
"  Was  it  good  and  satisfactory,  or  was  it  unsatisfactory  to  the 
men? 
'     "If  unsatisfactory,  in  what  respect? 

"If  you  joined  the  union  and  went  out  on  strike,  please  state 
fully  just  what  was  the  cause  which  inspired  you  to  go 
out  on  a  strike,  and  whether  or  not  you  think  the  men 
were  justified  in  striking. 
"If  you  have  no  objections,  and  were  a  union  man,  state 
whether  or  not  a  vote  by  ballot  was  taken,  as  provided  by 
the  by-laws  of  the  union,  on  the  question  of  the  strike. 
"If  you  were  not  a  union  man  and  quit  the  service  of  the 
company  during  the  strike  or  at  any  period  of  it,  state 
for  what  reason  you  quit. 


LOYALTY  REWARDED— VIEWS  OF  THE  MEN  155 

"  You  may  include  any  other  items  that  you  think  are  impor- 
tant in  your  letter,  and  whatever  you  say  will  not  be  counted 
against  you  in  any  way  by  the  officers  of  the  street  railway  com- 
pany, as  it  is  my  desire  to  give  a  number  of  the  representative 
employes  of  the  company  the  opportunity  of  saying  just  what 
they  have  in  mind  regarding  all  matters  in  these  letters.  In  a 
general  way  please  embody  in  your  letter  as  many  of  the  points 
above  mentioned  as  you  see  fit  to  do,  and  send  the  letter  to  me  as 
early  as  convenient,  and  greatly  obUge, 

"Yours  truly, 

(Signed)  G.  W.  Wattles, 

President." 

The  following  repUes  were  received: 

"Omaha,  Neb.,  Nov.  9,  1909. 
"Mr.  G.  W.  Wattles, 
Omaha,  Neb. 

Dear  Sir: — I  have  been  in  the  employ  of  the  company  for 
twenty-two  years  last  month.  Two  years  I  drove  horse  cars  on 
the  13th  street  line,  and  twenty  years  on  as  motorman  on  the  24th 
and  Hanscom  Park  line.  I  did  not  join  the  union  because  I  was 
satisfied  with  the  treatment  I  was  receiving,  and  had  no  complaint 
to  make  against  any  of  the  officers  of  the  company.  I  think  every- 
thing was  satisfactory  the  month  before  the  strike,  and  do  not 
think  the  men  were  justified  in  striking.  My  reasons  for  not  join- 
ing the  union  nor  not  walking  out  during  the  strike  are  that  every 
man  that  wishes  to  make  a  headway  has  to  plan  ahead  and  can't 
be  called  out  on  a  strike  any  time  the  union  says;  so  I  don't  think 
that  anyone  knows  a  man's  business  any  better  than  the  man 
himself,  and  whether  he  can  afford  to  lose  the  time  and  perhaps 
his  position  or  not. 

"  Yours  truly, 

(Signed)  Bert  P.  Boone. 

"Omaha,  Neb.,  Nov.  10,  1909. 
"  Mr.  G.  W.  Wattles, 
Omaha,  Neb. 
Dear  Sir: — In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  8th  would  say,  1 
have  been  in  the  employ  of  your  company  over  nineteen  years  as 
conductor.     I  did  not  belong  to  the  union  at  the  time  of  the  strike. 
I  did  not  take  my  car  out  of  the  barn  the  morning  of  the  strike. 
I  did  not  feel  safe  and  could  not  stand  to  be  called  scab  and  other 


166  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

words.  I  was  the  fourth  car  out  in  the  morning.  The  rest  of  the 
men  would  not  go  out  that  belonged  ahead  of  me,  so  I  refused  to 
go  too.  The  foreman  said  I  was  discharged,  so  I  stayed  away  from 
the  bam.  I  joined  the  union  the  second  or  third  day  of  the  strike. 
I  never  had  anything  to  do  with  bringing  on  the  trouble.  I  never 
had  any  complaint  to  make  about  the  company.  As  far  as  I  am 
concerned  they  have  always  treated  me  good,  but  I  don't  think 
that  I  deserved  to  be  put  back  on  the  list  where  I  started  nineteen 
years  ago.  Would  like  to  see  all  the  old  men  reinstated  in  their 
old  places,  as  they  were  before  the  strike.  I  am  not  satisfied 
with  the  conditions  as  they  are  now. 

"Yours  truly, 

(Signed)    Charles  Snyder. 

"Omaha,  Neb.,  Nov.  10,  1909. 
"  Mr.  G.  W.  Wattles,  * 
Omaha,   Neb. 

Dear  Sir: — Your  letter  of  the  8th  inst.  received  requesting 
me  to  write  you  a  letter  expressing  my  views  in  regard  to  the  recent 
street  railway  strike  and  the  position  I  occupied  as  employe  of  the 
company.  I  will  answer  your  questions,  in  the  the  first  place,  in 
the  order  in  which  you  have  asked.  I  have  been  in  the  employ 
of  the  street  railway  company  twenty- two  years  in  the  capacity 
of  conductor,  starting  in  in  December,  1887,  under  the  superin- 
tendency  of  Mr.  F.  A.  Tucker.  I  joined  the  union  about  ten  years 
ago  at  a  time  when  all  the  conductors  and  motormen  were  mem- 
bers. Myself  and  some  others  joined,  in  order,  if  any  trouble  arose, 
we  could  have  a  voice  and  vote  in  the  matter;  but  we  had  some  half 
dozen  agitators  who  were  always  trying  to  make  some  trouble  about 
having  better  wages  or  the  union  recognized,  etc.,  and  the  thing 
became  so  corrupt  that  myself  and  several  others  withdrew.  We 
had  a  vote  during  my  membership  on  a  strike.  I  voted  against 
it,  which  was  the  last  meeting  I  attended.  I  have  never  had  any 
cause  for  complaint  against  the  company  since  I  have  been  in 
their  employ,  and  if  I  should  become  dissatisfied,  I  will  simply 
quit  and  not  throw  a  brick  at  the  man  that  takes  my  place,  or  de- 
stroy any  of  the  company's  property. 

"  I  did  not  go  out  on  the  strike,  and  do  not  think  any  one  was 
justified  in  so  doing,  and  I  had  heard  but  very  little  dissatisfaction 
expressed  among  the  men  before  the  strike,  except  a  few  chronic 
agitators.     During  the  strike  and  while  at  work  I  was  frequently 


LOYALTY  REWARDED— VIEWS  OF  THE  MEN  157 

approached  by  the  strikers,  who  begged  me  to  quit  work  and  go 
with  them  on  the  strike,  but  they  got  no  satisfaction  from  me, 
and  they  finally  gave  it  up  as  a  bad  job.  It  may  be  that  I  will 
not  be  with  the  street  railway  company  a  great  while  longer,  but 
when  I  do  quit,  I  hope  to  have  the  good  will  and  friendship  of  all 
those  with  whom  I  have  been  associated  for  so  many  years. 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

(Signed)  Charles  Ward,  " 

"Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  Nov.  11,  1909. 
"Mr.  G.  W.  Wattles,  President, 
Omaha,  Neb. 

Dear  Sir: — I  take  this  means  of  expressing  my  views  and 
telling  you  why  I  did  not  join  the  union  or  go  on  a  strike.  I  have 
been  employed  as  conductor  for  the  street  railway  company  in 
Council  Bluffs  for  the  past  nineteen  years.  I  did  not  join  the 
union  because  I  did  not  want  to  be  under  any  obligations  to  go 
out  on  a  strike,  preferring  to  be  at  Uberty  to  use  my  own  judgment. 
In  this  case  it  looked  to  me  like  everything  could  have  been  settled 
without  a  strike,  except  recognition  of  the  union.  So  long  as  I 
get  fair  treatment  and  good  wages  I  will  try  to  be  satisfied.  As 
less  than  half  the  conductors  and  motor  men  of  this  division 
belonged  to  the  union,  I  don't  see  why  they  should  be  recognized 
separately. 

"  I  have  no  complaints  to  make  against  the  company  or  its 
officials.  I  have  found  the  foremen  and  road  officers  on  this  divi- 
sion reasonable  and  agreeable  to  deal  with.  Up  to  a  month  before 
the  strike  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  men  on  this  division  as  a  whole 
were  pretty  well  satisfied.  I  suppose  it  is  natural  for  us  to  want 
all  the  wages  we  can  get,  but  this  was  easily  disposed  of  and  fur- 
nished no  grounds  for  a  strike.  I  don't  know  of  any  instances 
where  union  men  have  been  discriminated  against  or  any  promises 
the  company  have  made  that  were  not  kept.  My  mind  was  never 
in  the  balance  as  I  could  see  no  good  reason  for  a  strike. 

"  Yours  truly, 

(Signed)  W.  F.  Thorne.  " 

"Omaha,  Neb.,  Nov.  12,  1909. 
"Mr.  G.  W.  Wattles, 
Omaha,  Neb. 
Dear  Sir: — In  reply  to  your  letter  of  November  8th,  will 
answer  your  questions  as  follows: 


158  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

"  I  have  been  in  the  employ  of  the  company  for  twelve  years 
last  March.  I  have  acted  as  conductor  during  the  entire  time. 
I  joined  the  union  the  night  before  the  strike — but  not  of  my  own 
accord.  Two  men  came  to  my  house  and  wanted  me  to  go  down 
to  the  union  meeting — said  it  was  an  open  meeting  and  all  carmen 
were  invited  to  attend,  and  C.  O.  Pratt  was  'going  to  speak.  I 
finally  consented  to  attend,  and  no  more  than  sat  down  at  the 
meeting  till  Mr.  Morrow  and  Gillen  and  several  other  street  car  men 
came  and  asked  me  to  join  the  union.  I  said,  'Not  now '.  Morrow 
said,  'I  have  your  name  and  want  a  dollar'.  I  told  him  I  didn't 
have  any  money  with  me.  Just  then  an  acquaintance  stepped  up 
and  paid  it  for  me.  It  is  under  these  conditions  that  my  name  is 
among  the  union  men.  I  have  never  attended  any  of  their  meet- 
ings or  paid  any  further  attention  to  it.  Never  received  any  of 
their  money,  and  do  not  consider  myself  a  member. 

"I  have  never  had  cause  for  complaint  while  in  employ  of 
the  company. 

"  So  far  as  I  know  a  month  before  the  strike  the  condition 
among  the  men  was  good. 

"  I  went  to  the  car  barn  to  go  to  work  on  the  morning  of  the 
strike  and  met  about  fifty  men  this  side  of  Ames  avenue.  They 
said  there  was  a  strike  on,  and  I  turned  back  home. 

"  I  don't  think  the  men  were  justified  in  striking. 

"  At  the  meeting  a  rising  vote  was  taken. 
"  Yours  truly, 

(Signed)  H.  S.  Hallenbeck.  " 

"Omaha,  Neb.,  Nov.  12,  1909. 
"Mr.  G.  W.  Wattles,  President, 
Omaha,  Neb. 

Dear  Sir: — Answering  yours  of  late  date  will  say,  first,  that 
I  have  been  in  the  employ  of  your  company  as  motorman  since 
May,  1898. 

"I  did  not  join  the  union,  simply  because  it  does  not  quite 
suit  my  idea  of  things.  For  instance,  the  way  they  have  of  voting 
a  man  out  of  a  position  does  not  look  good  to  me. 

"Causes  of  complaint,  I  have  always  found  our  company 
ready  and  willing  to  adjust  matters  in  a  fair  and  just  manner,  con- 
sequently have  no  grievance  on  that  score. 

"The  condition  before  the  strike  I  think  very  good.  The 
feeling  was  unusually  good  for  a  bunch  of  men  that  size.      To  be 


LOYALTY  REWARDED— VIEWS  OF  THE  MEN  169 

sure  there  are  always  a  few  who  are  always  out  of  fix  and  could 
not  be  satisfied.  I  only  hope  to  see  things  running  in  as  good  shape 
in  the  near  future. 

"Thanking  you  for  the  kindness  shown,  I  beg  to  remain, 
"Yours  respectfully, 

(Signed)  J.  W.  Kepler." 

"Omaha,  Neb.,  Nov.  14,  1909. 
"Mr.  G.  W.  Wattles, 
Omaha,  Neb. 

Dear  Sir: — I  have  been  in  the  employ  of  the  street  railway 
company  for  thirteen  years  and  six  months  as  conductor. 

"  When  the  employes  first  organized  a  union  I  was  persuaded 
to  join  it.  After  I  attended  a  few  of  their  meetings  and  learned 
their  methods,  I  withdrew.  That  was  about  seven  or  eight  years 
ago. 

"  I  joined  the  union  at  that  time  because  there  was  talk  of  a 
strike,  and  I  thought  I  would  have  a  chance  to  vote  against 
trquble. 

"  I  have  never  belonged  to  the  union  since  that  time. 

"During  the  years  of  my  employ  I  have  had  no  complaints 
to  offer  against  my  treatment  by  the  company.  I  have  no  com- 
plaint to  offer  against  the  officers  of  the  company. 

"  A  month  before  the  strike  was  called  the  general  condition 
among  most  of  the  men  seemed  to  be  satisfactory,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  agitators. 

"  I  did  not  join  the  union  and  did  not  go  on  a  strike,  because 
I  do  not  believe  in  such  methods.  I  do  not  think  the  men  were 
justified  at  all  in  causing  a  strike. 

"Not  being  a  member  of  the  union  I  cannot  say  positively 
what  kind  of  vote  was  taken,  but  I  was  told  that  they  took  a  stand- 
ing vote. 

"  I  did  not  quit  the  service  of  the  company  during  the  strike. 
I  worked  the  first  day  of  the  strike  thirteen  hours.  All  the  cars 
stopped  at  seven  o'clock,  and  there  was  no  way  provided  for  me 
to  get  home,  so  I  had  to  walk  the  forty  (40)  blocks  after  that  hour. 
I  remained  at  home  the  next  three  days,  because  it  was  too  far  to 
walk,  and  I  had  no  way  of  getting  back  and  forth. 

"In  regard  to  this  strike  I  would  say,  that  I  do  not  believe 
there  ever  would  have  been  any  strike  if  it  had  not  been  for  Mr.  Ben 
Commons  and  Mr.  Pratt,  two  outsiders  who  had  no  business  to 


160  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

influence  the  men  at  all.  After  Mr.  Commons  had  been  here  a 
few  days,  several  of  the  men  tried  to  influence  me  to  attend  their 
meetings,  but  I  knew  where  I  stood  on  unionism  and  didn't  go. 
I  did  all  in  my  power  to  influence  the  men  against  going  on  a  strike, 
and  did  influence  a  great  many  of  them  to  return  to  work  after 
the  strike  was  on. 

"Yours  truly, 

(Signed)  G.  C.  Huse.  " 

"  Omaha,  Neb.,  Nov.  14,  1909. 
"  Mr.  G.  W.  Wattles, 
Omaha,  Neb. 

Dear  Sir: — In  reply  to  yours  of  the  8th  will  say,  I  have  worked 
for  the  Omaha  Street  Railway  company  as  conductor  ever  since 
the  29th  of  August,  1898,  most  of  the  time  on  the  Harney  hne. 
I  joined  the  union  about  two  months  after  it  was  organized,  but 
being  in  poor  health  I  have  not  attended  the  meetings.  I  beUeve 
in  organized  labor.  If  the  laborers  did  not  organize,  capital 
would  crowd  them  off  tKe  earth.  I  do  not  believe  in  strikes,  as 
both  sides  are  losers.  I  do  believe  in  the  New  Zealand  method  of 
arbitration. 

"  In  this  instance  I  think  there  was  very  little  to  arbitrate.  Of 
course,  we  need  more  money  too,  as  everything  we  have  to  buy  has 
advanced  very  nearly  fifty  per  cent.  If  I  had  been  able  to  attend 
the  meetings  I  should  have  voted  NO !  !  from  start  to  finish.  While 
the  men  are  probably  treated  as  well  as  most  companies  treat 
their  men,  we  are  called  to  the  office  for  apparently  no  cause,  or 
so  sUght  that  it  seems  mere  boys'  play.  I  was  called  because  I 
issued  a  universal  transfer  when  I  had  a  big  load,  and  once  for 
accidentally  sitting  down  while  crossing  Cuming  street  on  an  extra 
going  in.     We  had  no  passengers.     I  lost  a  day  to  explain. 

"  I  can't  see  why  the  public  should  be  requested  to  find  fault 
with  the  men.  If  they  were  compelled  to  advance  their  wages 
during  an  investigation,  there  would  be  less  reporting  done. 

"  I  do  not  consider  that  I  went  out  on  a  strike  at  all,  for  I  was 
sick  and  could  not  have  worked  anyway.  I  was  taken  down  on 
Wednesday,  the  14th,  with  erysipelas  and  was  not  able  to  work 
till  the  3rd  of  October.  I  have  had  to  lay  off  two  days  since  then 
on  account  of  sickness.  If  I  had  been  able  I  certainly  should  have 
taken  ray  car  out  on  the  18th  and  kept  it  out,  too.     As  it  was  I 


LOYALTY  REWARDED— VIEWS  OF  THE  MEN  161 

reported  for  work  on  the  29th  and  furnished  a  doctor's  certificate, 
as  well  as  a  statement  from  the  night  foreman,  Dan  Mulcahay. 

"  As  I  was  not  at  the  meeting  that  voted  to  call  a  strike,  I 
don't  know  what  kind  of  a  vote  was  taken,  but  several  of  the  men 
who  were  there  have  told  me  that  a  standing  vote  was  taken,  and 
if  a  secret  vote  was  taken  the  strike  would  never  have  been  called. 
When  I  did  go  to  work  I  worked  overtime,  double  time  and  extra 
time,  anything  to  help  out  during  the  carnival.  I  received  no  extra 
compensation  but  got  what  the  time  amounted  to. 

"  Respectfully, 
(Signed)  Nat.  P.  Sackett.  " 

The  purpose  of  this  letter  was  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  if  there 
was  any  real  dissatisfaction  among  the  rank  and  file  of  the  men 
before  the  strike  was  called,  and,  if  so,  what  was  the  cause  of  the 
trouble.  It  would  seem,  from  the  tenor  of  the  replies,  that  there 
was  not  in  reality  any  deep-seated,  general  feeling  of  dissatisfaction 
among  the  men. 


Chapter  XVII. 


LESSONS  OF  THE  STRIKE 

At  the  very  beginning  of  the  strike,  President  Taft  delivered  a 
speech  on  labor  in  Chicago,  in  which  he  made  the  following  state- 
ments: 

"  I  know  that  there  is  an  element  among  employers  of  labor 
and  investors  of  capital  which  is  utterly  opposed  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  labor.  I  cannot  sympathize  with  this  element  in  the 
slightest  degree.  I  think  it  a  wise  course  for  laborers  to  unite  to 
defend  their  interests.  It  is  a  wise  course  for  them  to  provide  a 
fund  by  which,  should  occasion  arise  and  strikes  follow,  those 
who  lose  their  places  may  be  supported  pending  an  adjustment 
of  the  difficulties. 

"I  think  the  employer  who  decUnes  to  deal  with  organized 
labor,  and  to  recognize  it  as  a  proper  element  in  the  settlement  of 
wage  controversies,  is  behind  the  times. 

"  There  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  if  labor  had  remained 
unorganized  wages  would  be  much  lower.  It  is  true  that  in  the 
end  they  would  probably  be  fixed  by  the  law  of  supply  and  demand, 
but  generally  before  this  law  manifests  itself,  there  is  a  period 
in  which  labor,  if  organized  and  acting  together,  can  compel  the 
employer  promptly  to  recognize  the  change  of  conditions  and 
advance  wages  to  meet  a  rising  market  and  an  increase  in  profits, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  can  delay  the  too  quick  impulse  of  the 
employer  facing  a  less  prosperous  future  to  economize  by  reducing 
wages. 

"  There  is  a  higher  standard  of  living  among  American  laborers 
than  in  any  other  country  in  the  world,  and  while  there  have  doubt- 
less been  a  good  many  other  reasons  for  this,  certainly  the  effect 
of  the  organization  of  labor  has  been  to  maintain  a  steady  and 
high  rate  of  wages,  making  such  a  standard  of  living  possible. 

"  Nothing  I  have  said  or  shall  say  should  be  construed  into  an 
attitude  of  criticism  or  unfriendliness  to  those  workingmen  who 
for  any  reason  do  not  join  unions.     Their  right  to  labor  for  such 

(198) 


LESSONS  OF  THE  STRIKE  163 

wages  as  they  choose  to  accept  is  sacred,  and  any  lawless  invasion 
of  that  right  cannot  be  too  severely  condemned. 

"  All  advantages  of  trades  unionism,  great  as  they  are,  cannot 
weigh  a  feather  in  the  scale  against  the  right  of  any  man  lawfully 
seeking  employment  to  work  for  whom  and  what  price  he  will. 
And  I  say  this  with  all  the  emphasis  possible,  even  though  the  fact 
is  that,  if  I  were  a  workingman,  I  should  probably  deem  it  wise  to 
join  a  union  for  the  reasons  given. 

"  Of  course,  when  organized  labor  permits  itself  to  sympathize 
with  violent  methods,  with  breaches  of  the  law,  with  boycots 
and  other  methods  of  undue  duress,  it  is  not  entitled  to  any  sym- 
pathy. But  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  such  organizations  shall 
be  perfect,  and  that  they  may  not  at  times  and  in  particular  cases 
show  defective  tendencies  which  ought  to  be  corrected. " 

Perhaps  this  statement  on  the  part  of  the  President  had  as 
much  to  do  as  any  other  cause  in  encouraging  the  striking  street 
car  men  in  their  fight.  The  first  part  of  the  speech  was  quoted  by 
the  strike-leaders  on  many  occasions.  The  last  part  of  it,  which 
qualifies  to  a  large  extent  what  is  said  about  unions,  was  seldom, 
if  ever,  quoted. 

It  was  unfortunate  that  the  President  did  not  explain,  in  this 
address,  how  "  workingmen,  who  for  any  reason  do  not  join  unions, " 
are  to  be  protected  in  "  their  right  to  labor  for  such  wages  as  they 
choose  to  accept, "  if  employers  of  labor"  are  compelled  or  induced 
to  sign  agreements  with  unions,  which  practically  preclude  them 
from  employing  or  continuing  in  their  employ  any  who  do  not 
belong  to  the  union.  The  contract  submitted  by  the  union  in 
March,  1907,  to  the  officers  of  the  Omaha  &  Council  Bluffs  Street 
Railway  company  contained  the  following  provision: 

"Section  3.  All  motormen  and  conductors  who  are  now  or 
may  hereafter  become  members  of  the  Association  shall  remain 
members  in  good  standing  in  the  Association  as  long  as  they  remain 
in  the  service  of  the  company,  providing  that  such  continuance 
of  membership  shall  not  conflict  with  the  laws  of  the  Association. 
All  new  motormen  and  conductors  hired  in  the  future  shall  receive 
their  necessary  instructions  upon  the  car  at  the  hands  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Association,  and  upon  making  application  for  member- 
ship in  the  Association,  and  their  membership  shall  be  governed 
by  the  same  rules  as  that  stated  above  in  regard  to  present  mem- 
bers of  the  Association.     The  company  further  agrees  that  in  case 


164  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR 

the  Association  expels  a  member  for  the  violation  of  its  laws,  that 
they  will  dismiss  such  employe  from  the  service  of  the  company 
upon  receipt  of  the  proof  of  such  violation  from  the  Association. " 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  if  the  demand  for  the  execution  of 
this  contract  had  been  complied  with,  there  would  not  have  been 
any  further  opportunity  for  workingmen  who  did  not  belong  to  a 
union  to  find  employment  with  the  Omaha  &  Council  Bluffs  Street 
Railway  company. 

The  first  section  of  the  contract  with  the  Cleveland  Electric 
Railway  Company  and  Division  No.  268  of  the  Amalgamated 
Association  of  Street  and  Electric  Railway  Employes  of  America, 
of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  reads  as  follows: 

"Section  1.  The  company  recommends  that  all  motormen 
and  conductors  in  their  employ,  become  members  of  the  Association 
and  will  post  notices  of  such  recommendation  upon  the  signing  of 
this  agreement,  the  substance  of  such  notices  to  be  agreed  upon 
between  the  company  and  the  committee  representing  the  Associa- 
tion. All  motormen  and  conductors  who  are  now  or  may  here- 
after become  members  of  the  Association,  or  who  have  made 
application  for  membership  in  the  Association  up  to  and  including 
the  date  of  the  signing  of  this  agreement,  shall  remain  members  in 
good  standing  of  the  Association  so  long  as  they  remain  in  the  serv- 
ice of  the  company,  providing  that  such  continuance  in  member- 
ship shall  not  conflict  with  the  laws  of  the  Association,  All  new 
motormen  and  conductors  employed  in  the  future,  after  a  proba- 
tionary period  of  sixty  days,  if  they  still  remain  in  the  service, 
shall  become  members  of  the  Association  and  subject  to  the  above 
provisions.  Should  the  Association  expel  a  member  for  the  viola- 
tion of  its  laws,  the  company  agrees  to  dismiss  said  member  from 
the  service  upon  receipt  of  the  proof  of  such  violation  from  the 
Association." 

The  writer  is  reliably  informed  that  in  all  cases  where  con- 
tracts are  entered  into  between  street  railway  companies  and  union 
employes,  that  even  though  provisions  such  as  above  cited  are 
not  at  first  inserted  in  such  contracts,  sooner  or  later  provisions 
of  this  character  are  demanded  by  such  unions.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  no  employer  of  union  labor  can  be  found  who  will  admit  that 
he  is  able  to  maintain  an  open  shop  where  union  men  and  non-union 
men  work  in  harmony  together.     The  theory  of  labor  unions  is 


LESSONS  OF  THE  STRIKE  165 

that  all  who  do  not  belong  to  the  union  are  "scabs,"  and  should 
not  be  permitted  to  work  by  the  side  of  union  men.  While,  in 
theory,  men  who  do  not  belong  to  unions  should  be  protected  in 
their  rights  to  work  for  whomsoever  they  choose,  and  for  such 
wages  as  may  be  mutually  satisfactory,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  no 
places  for  such  workmen  can  be  found  with  corporations  or  indi- 
viduals who  have  contracts  with  well-organized  unions. 

The  letters  received  from  the  men  confirm  the  opinion  of  the 
officers  of  the  street  railway  company,  frequently  expressed  by 
them  during  the  strike,  that  this  strike  was  inflicted  on  the  em- 
ployes of  this  company  without  just  cause  and  at  the  dictation  of 
outside  agitators,  who  came  to  this  city  for  the  purpose  of  forcing 
the  execution  of  a  contract,  which  would  insure  their  association 
a  monthly  income  of  several  hundred  dollars  out  of  the  wages  of 
these  workingmen;  and  that,  failing  to  secure  the  execution  of 
this  contract  by  peaceful  methods,  a  strike  was  called  to  enforce 
this  demand. 

That  the  strike  was  never  legally  voted  in  accordance  with  the 
by-laws  and  rules  of  the  association  is  beyond  question;  that  the 
passions  of  the  men  were  intentionally  aroused,  and  that  they  were 
called  upon  in  the  heat  of  excitement  to  vote  the  strike  by  a  stand- 
ing vote,  instead  of  by  a  ballot,  is  equally  certain. 

Finally,  the  men  who  precipitated  this  crime  against  labor, 
when  they  knew  they  had  been  defeated,  instead  of  acting  the  part 
of  true  generals  by  advising  the  strikers  to  accept  the  reasonable 
and  just  proposition  of  the  company,  under  which  nearly  all  of 
the  men  might  have  returned  to  work,  counseled  the  rejection  of 
this  proposition,  and  the  continuance  of  an  unprofitable  and  unjust 
warfare,  in  which  every  man  who  follows  their  leadership  and  ad- 
vice must  finally  accept  absolute  defeat,  with  all  the  loss  and  suffer- 
ing to  innocent  parties  which  such  defeat  must  entail. 

To  assume  the  authority  of  placing  in  jeopardy  the  fortunes 
of  a  large  number  of  workingmen,  and  the  future  comfort  and  hap- 
piness of  not  only  these  men  but  their  wives  and  children,  is  a 
grave  responsibility,  which  should  only  be  undertaken  by  leaders 
who  act  through  motives  which  cannot  be  questioned.  To  sacrifice 
the  interests  of  honest  workingmen,  who  entrust  their  all  with 
confidence  to  such  leaders,  is  truly  A  CRIME  AGAINST  LABOR. 


ih:^*)' 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     000  955  494     o 


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